Junseo Lee
I am an incoming PhD student in Quantum Science and Engineering at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, starting in Fall 2026.
I am fortunate to be co-advised by Anurag Anshu and Sitan Chen at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, as well as Jordan Cotler at the Department of Physics. I will also be part of the Harvard Quantum Initiative and the Theory of Computation Group, and will be cross-registered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
I am currently a Research Associate at the SNU Institute of Computer Technology, hosted by Kabgyun Jeong.
My research focuses on the mathematical and theoretical computer science aspects of quantum systems, particularly quantum learning theory and quantum complexity theory, as well as their connections to quantum many-body physics.
Previously, I completed my mandatory military service in South Korea as a Technical Research Personnel and was a Research Affiliate at the SNU Research Institute of Mathematics. I received my B.S. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Yonsei University, supported by the Hyundai Motor CMK Science and Technology Scholarship.
📄 Curriculum Vitae (Last updated: April 26, 2026)
🔗 LinkedIn | Google Scholar | X (formerly Twitter)
📨 junseolee at fas.harvard.edu
News +
- Apr. 2026: I gave an invited career talk for students at Shinil High School.
- Apr. 2026: Our paper on Hamiltonian certification was selected as a contributed talk at TQC 2026.
- Apr. 2026: I joined the Institute of Computer Technology at Seoul National University as a Research Associate, where I will be working until August 2026 before joining Harvard.
- Mar. 2026: I visited Harvard for the QSE Open House and continued my visit with support from Anurag Anshu.
- Mar. 2026: I completed my mandatory military service!
- Feb. 2026: I was delighted to be admitted to the Ph.D. programs in QSE at Harvard and Physics at MIT. I have accepted the offer from Harvard QSE and am excited for the journey ahead!
Selected Papers +
- Certifying and learning local quantum Hamiltonians
with Andreas Bluhm, Matthias C. Caro, Francisco Escudero Gutiérrez, Aadil Oufkir, Cambyse Rouzé, Myeongjin Shin
Contributed talk at TQC (2026).
[PDF], [TQC 2026] - Efficient learning of bosonic Gaussian unitaries
with Marco Fanizza, Vishnu Iyer, Antonio Anna Mele, Francesco Anna Mele
Contributed talk at QIP (2026).
[PDF], [Slides], [QIP 2026] - Resource-efficient algorithm for estimating the trace of quantum state powers
with Myeongjin Shin, Seungwoo Lee, Kabgyun Jeong
Quantum (2025).
[PDF], [Journal], [Slide], [Poster], [Property Testing Review]
Teaching +
Mentoring +
I mentored undergraduate students in research, which I found both deeply rewarding and intellectually enriching. I had the privilege of working with outstanding students and learned a great deal from our collaborations. The students I have worked with are listed below:
- Arul Rhik Mazumder (Carnegie Mellon University, Summer 2026–present)
- Kartik Anand (Indian Institute of Technology Goa, Summer 2025), now a master's student at Hamburg University of Technology
- Donghwa Ji (Seoul National University, Spring 2025–present, co-mentored with Kabgyun Jeong)
- Mingyu Lee (Seoul National University, Research Intern at the University of Oxford, Spring 2024–present, co-mentored with Sathyawageeswar Subramanian and Kabgyun Jeong)
- Myeongjin Shin (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Spring 2023–present, co-mentored with Kabgyun Jeong)
I would be happy to mentor research projects if there is a good fit. Please feel free to reach out by email if you are interested!
Miscellaneous +
I enjoy playing table tennis and the piano, and I also like a wide variety of puzzle games. I was born in Asan, South Korea, and spent most of my life in Seoul.
I am also particularly interested in the Mathematics Genealogy Project. By tracing the academic lineages of my advisors, I came across several fascinating connections. In particular, it was striking to encounter figures such as Leonhard Euler (from Anurag Anshu), Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (from Sitan Chen), and Paul Dirac (from Jordan Cotler) along these lineages!