Alán Aspuru-Guzik

Alán Aspuru-Guzik is a professor of chemistry and computer science at the University of Toronto. His research group studies machine learning, quantum computing, and automated chemistry. He is the chief scientific officer and a co-founder of quantum computing startup .

Early life[]

Aspuru-Guzik was raised in Mexico City, Mexico.^[1] When he was in junior high, he represented Mexico at the International Chemistry Olympiad after which his passion for science, particularly chemistry, grew.^[2]

Aspuru-Guzik had obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1999.^[3] In 2004, he was awarded a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley^[4] He continued at Berkeley as a postdoctoral fellow between 2005 and 2006.

Career[]

From 2006 to 2010, Aspuru-Guzik was an assistant professor at Harvard University, before becoming associate professor in 2010, and professor in 2013.^[5] In 2018, Professor Aspuru-Guzik moved to the University of Toronto as a Canada 150 Research Chair.^[1][6]

From 2012 to 2014, Aspuru-Guzik had worked with Michael Aziz and with funding from the United States Department of Energy to develop grid-scale, metal-free flow batteries.^[7] In 2016, Aspuru-Guzik had worked with Ryan Babbush, a quantum engineer at Google to develop a new algorithm for a quantum computer which will be able to detect various molecules, such as cholesterol.^[8]

Since 2018, he has given lectures at the Information Science and Technology Center, Colorado State University,^[9] Williams College,^[10] and the College of New Jersey.^[11]

Awards[]

• 2009 – Dow Foundation Distinguished Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara
• 2009 – Closs Lecturer, University of Chicago
• 2009 – Sloan Research Fellow
• 2010 – Hascoe Distinguished Lecturer, University of Connecticut^[12]
• 2010 – American Chemical Society Hewlett-Packard Outstanding Junior Faculty Award
• 2010 – MIT Technology Review Young Innovator Under 35 (TR35)^[13]
• 2011 – Big Think Delphi Fellow^[14]
• 2012 – Ulam Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratories
• 2012 – Phillips Distinguished Visitor, Haverford College^[15]
• 2012 – Elected Fellow, American Physical Society^[16]
• 2013 – ACS Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry^[17]
• 2013 – Computer World Data+ Award^[18]
• 2015 – Information Science and Technology Center Distinguished Lecturer, Colorado State University
• 2015 – Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Senior Fellow^[19]
• 2016 – Per-Olov Löwdin Lecturer, Uppsala University^[20]
• 2017 – Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)^[21]
• 2017–2018; Invited Member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Advanced Materials
• 2018 – Canada 150 Research Chair in Theoretical and Quantum Chemistry^[22]
• 2018 – The Phi Beta Kappa Society Visiting Scholar^[23]
• 2019 – Canada CIFAR AI Chair, Vector Institute^[19]
• 2019 – Senior Fellow, Massey College^[24]
• 2019 – Laird Lecture, Memorial University of Newfoundland

References[]

External links[]

• Alán Aspuru-Guzik publications indexed by Google Scholar
• Research group website