people
Shankari Rajagopal
Harold C. Early Physics Early Career Professor, Assistant Professor of Physics
she/her
svraj [at] umich [dot] edu
Homer A. Neal Lab 4223
Homer A. Neal Lab 3214
About:
Shankari Rajagopal is an atomic physics experimentalist interested in driven systems, measurement, and interactive quantum dynamics. From 2019-2024, she was a postdoctoral research scholar and Stanford Science Fellow at Stanford University in the group of Monika Schleier-Smith, working on improved coherence and uses of dressed Rydberg interactions in atomic tweezer arrays. She completed her graduate studies in 2019 at the University of California Santa Barbara in the lab of David Weld, building two experiments in a new lab (lithium and strontium!) and then studying non-equilibrium dynamics with Bose-Einstein condensates in lattices. Shankari is particularly interested in applications of driven quantum systems and measurement feedback to quantum simulation, optimization, and metrology.
In her spare time, Shankari enjoys getting outdoors (long-distance running, hiking, biking, climbing, gardening), music (live shows, playing, and composing, the latter two very poorly), and stealing meeting as many dogs as possible.
Liam Daly
Graduate Researcher
Department: Physics
he/him
he/him
liamdaly [at] umich [dot] edu
Homer A. Neal Lab
Homer A. Neal Lab 3214
About:
Liam is a first year physics graduate student at the University of Michigan. He earned his B.S. in Physics from the University of North Texas in 2024, where he worked in the lab of Jens Neu on THz-Time Domain Spectroscopy. In 2023, he participated in the University of Michigan NSF REU program, working with the Goldman group on simulations of carrier concentration in submonolayer quantum dots. Outside the lab, Liam enjoys playing stringed instruments, hiking, kayaking, and both watching and learning how to play hockey.
Riva Jangra
Visiting Researcher
Department: Physics
she/her
she/her
riva.jangra.GR [at] dartmouth [dot] edu
Homer A. Neal Lab
Homer A. Neal Lab 3214
About:
Riva is a visiting researcher from the Perimeter Institute who will begin her PhD in physics at Dartmouth College in Fall 2025. Over the past year she’s helped build the atomic-level compiler infrastructure for Professor Rajibul Islam’s trapped-ion quantum computer, explored AI applications in Celestial Holography with Professor Sabrina Pasterski, and most recently worked on topological graph theoretic applications for superconducting qubits with Professor Andrew Houck’s lab. She’s excited to dive into the guts of quantum control systems and is passionate about experimentally verifying theoretical work. If she’s not at the lab, you’ll find Riva at a pottery wheel, training Brazilian jiu-jitsu, devouring horror novels, or skiff sailing!
Hsu Ting Tung
Undergraduate Researcher
Major(s): Physics, Minor(s): Computer Science
he/him
he/him
tunght [at] umich [dot] edu
Homer A. Neal Lab 3214
About:
Hsu Ting is a junior majoring in Physics and minoring in Computer Science at the University of Michigan, particularly interested in quantum computing and quantum information science. He is also passionate about gastronomy, and in his spare time, likes to try out new restaurants and cook food that doesn’t meet his expectations. He tries to balance his excess caloric intake with sports, having fenced professionally, and mainly training Muay Thai and playing tennis nowadays.
Yiyi Zhu
Undergraduate Researcher
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics, Minor(s): none
he/him
he/him
yiyizhu [at] umich [dot] edu
Homer A. Neal Lab 3214
About:
Yiyi is a junior undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, majoring in Physics and Mathematics. He joined the Rajagopal Lab in Spring 2025. Prior to that, he conducted research on the Gromov hyperbolicity of the fine arc graph in the University of Michigan Lab of Geometry and worked on improving methods for detecting continuous gravitational waves. Outside of academics, Yiyi enjoys rock climbing (still learning—and still falling), cycling, hiking, and playing the violin.
Jacob Lepley
Undergraduate Researcher
Major(s): ECE, Minor(s): Physics
he/him
he/him
jnlepley [at] umich [dot] edu
Homer A. Neal Lab 3214
About:
Jacob is a Senior undergrad studying computer engineering and physics, and hopes to pursue quantum computing in the near future. Previously, he worked on laser atomic spectroscopy of cesium atoms in the Quantum Optics Lab under the supervision of Alex Burgers. He also was a microsystems engineer on the University of Michigan Solar Car Team and helped them win their 10th national Championship. In his spare time, he enjoys working out, playing Fromsoft games and rogue-like games. Given the opportunity, he loves to camp, hike, build PCs, and travel (he has been to Morocco, Egypt, Spain, India, and Columbia).
