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Dr. Andras Gyenis, assistant professor; Arjun Dalwadi, undergraduate researcher; and Pablo Aramburu Sanchez, graduate mentor, in the Gyenis Quantum Lab, which focuses on protected semi and superconducting qubits.

For most high school students, late-night scrolling on Instagram leads to memes or music clips.

But for Arjun Dalwadi, a rising third-year electrical and computer engineering student, it led down a different rabbit hole: quantum computing.

Quantum computers could solve complex problems in minutes that would take classical computers decades.��

Dalwadi’s curiosity from that Instagram scroll has followed him in his quest to immerse himself in all things quantum.��

“CU Boulder has been an incredible place to explore quantum and all it has to offer,” he said. “You’re surrounded by faculty members and students who want you to grow and give you the opportunity to contribute in real ways to the field.”

Like many incoming engineering students, he considered mechanical or aerospace engineering—fields with already visible, well-known career paths. However, Dalwadi soon realized that electrical and computer engineering could offer a broader foundation, touching everything from space exploration to digital security and quantum.

“Electrical and computer engineering have applications in every industry, including the very technologies that quantum systems depend on and the design and operation of quantum systems themselves.”

Building a quantum-ready workforce

Today, more than 3,000 Colorado workers are��, supporting over 30 companies that span quantum sensing, networking and computing.����

That movement is only gaining momentum, with job growth in quantum expected to reach 30,000 in the next decade in the Mountain West.

As the industry grows, so does the need for engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs trained in the challenges and opportunities that quantum presents.��

“Quantum engineering is a rapidly growing field, so we need engineers and scientists with solid quantum knowledge to work in this area,” said��András Gyenis, an assistant professor in electrical engineering and one of Dalwadi’s research mentors.

“Quantum is very different from classical physics,” Gyenis explained. “Getting used to the concepts and building intuition as early as possible is critical for students so that they can become part of a strong quantum-ready workforce.”��

He believes that undergraduate research experience is one of the best ways to achieve that.

Pushing the boundaries in quantum research

Dalwadi loads a chip onto the "puck," which has the cavity necessary to support the quantum electrodynamic properties of the on-chip devices.

In fall 2024, Dalwadi joined��Gyenis’s research group, which focuses on quantum hardware and the development of more stable, coherent quantum devices. The lab explores superconducting qubits—tiny circuits etched into a superconducting material that behave like an artificial atom. When multiple qubits are combined onto a chip, they can interact with each other and we can operate multi-qubit gates, creating a quantum processor.����

“Our projects are at the intersection of quantum materials and quantum information science,” Gyenis said. “By improving how qubits behave and interact, we’re working toward systems that are not only powerful, but reliable enough for real-world use.”

Dalwadi is designing a new sample holder for testing superconducting qubits inside a dilution refrigerator—an advanced system that cools experiments down to just a few millikelvin, a thousand times colder than outer space, to allow the chip to become superconductive and protect the delicate quantum system from thermal noise.

“It’s such a wild environment,” Dalwadi said. “You’re working with temperatures near absolute zero to isolate these artificial atoms and preserve the quantum state.”

He compared a qubit’s sensitivity to a wiffle ball precariously balanced on top of a thin, tall pole, teetering and vulnerable to the slightest disturbance.��

“The slightest gust of wind could knock the wiffle ball off, and it would be impossible to replace it on the pole in the exact position it was in before it was knocked off. That’s what happens if a qubit is uncontrollably perturbed by the environment—the quantum information is lost,” he explained.

Dalwadi dispatches the old sample holder from the dilution fridge to replace it with the new assembly.

This is why shielding qubits from environmental noise is so critical, especially from electromagnetic interference. Dalwadi noted that the operating frequencies of superconducting qubits are close to those of everyday wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and cellular networks, making them especially prone to unintended coupling with stray radio waves.

The new sample holder Dalwadi is developing addresses some of the limitations of the lab’s previous design. Notably, it allows researchers to test more devices in a single cooldown cycle—a process that can take days. With the ability to connect up to 12 signal lines, compared to just four in the old design, the updated holder can support multi-qubit chips.��

“For example, one qubit might need a drive line, a readout line and a flux bias line—that’s already three lines,” Dalwadi said. “The new design allows us to pack more versatility into each experiment and examine more qubits per cooldown cycle.”

Dalwadi’s work spans RF engineering, printed circuit board (PCB) design, CAD modeling, precision manufacturing and collaboration with graduate students and postdocs to meet experimental needs with optimal performance in a robust, compact assembly.

“Arjun has done a fantastic job as an undergraduate researcher in my lab. He demonstrates exceptional independent problem-solving skills, learning new software skills and studying scientific papers,” Gyenis said. “Even when he saw certain engineering problems for the first time, he did his own research and kept going until he found the solution.”

Early research, big opportunities

Dalwadi’s research experience is made possible through CU Engineering’s��Discovery Learning Apprenticeship (DLA) program, which allows undergraduates to gain meaningful research experience alongside faculty mentors.��

“I never imagined I’d be contributing to actual quantum experiments this early,” Dalwadi said. “It’s made me more confident in the idea that I can have a career in quantum.”

And he’s not just focused on the hardware. In high school, he wrote an essay on the looming impact of quantum computing on encryption and cybersecurity, topics that are becoming more urgent as quantum processors grow in power.

“Our current internet security is predicated on problems that are near-impossible for classical computers to solve. RSA2048, for example, would take a classical computer trillions of years to break with a brute force attack,” he said. “But a 20-million-qubit quantum computer could theoretically crack RSA2048 in just eight hours. That’s unimaginable computational power.”

Quantum community and vision for the future

Dalwadi’s ongoing fascination with the quantum world led him to apply and join the��Quantum Scholars, a program at CU Boulder that supports undergraduate students interested in quantum research and education.��

As a scholar, Dalwadi receives mentorship, professional development and monthly community events where students explore the real-world impact of quantum science. The program introduces scholars to mentors, alumni and industry professionals who are shaping the future of quantum. Hearing directly from researchers at Colorado-based startups who are front and center of quantum technologies is something that Dalwadi notes as invaluable.��

“It’s been amazing to connect with other students and scientists who are just as excited about quantum,” he said. “You don’t feel like you’re exploring something niche or isolated. You’re part of an exciting scientific community.”

Looking ahead, Dalwadi hopes to pursue a PhD in quantum information science, focusing on hybrid classical-quantum systems.��

One area he’s especially passionate about is quantum computing’s potential in drug discovery and molecular modeling, fields where classical computers often struggle to simulate the complex interactions between atoms and molecules. Quantum computing, he explained, could dramatically accelerate research timelines, therefore reducing the years needed for drug development and clinical trials.

“To me, it’s not just a computational leap, but it’s the potential to save lives and make healthcare more accessible,” Dalwadi said.��

“Engineers work to solve problems and make life better for everyone. Quantum is just the next step in that mission. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for a world propelled by quantum technologies.”