Junseo Lee
I am a PhD student in Quantum Science and Engineering at Harvard University, where I am fortunate to be advised by Anurag Anshu, Sitan Chen, and Jordan Cotler. My doctoral research is also supported by the Kwanjeong PhD Fellowship.
At Harvard, I am a member of the Harvard Quantum Initiative and the Theory of Computation Group. I am also a Junior Investigator with the NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) at MIT.
I am interested in the interplay between computation and quantum physics, from foundational questions to applications in quantum technology.
Previously, I conducted research at Seoul National University through the Institute of Computer Technology and the Research Institute of Mathematics. I completed my undergraduate studies in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Yonsei University with support from the Hyundai Motor CMK Scholarship.
🔗 LinkedIn  · Google Scholar  · arXiv  · X (Twitter)
📨 junseolee at fas.harvard.edu
News +
- Sep. 2026: Our paper, Heisenberg-limited Hamiltonian Learning without Short-time Control, has been accepted for publication in PRX Quantum.
- Jul. 2026: Excited to share that the Harvard Quantum Theory Group website is now live!
- Jul. 2026: I am honored to have been selected as a Kwanjeong PhD Fellow.
- Jul. 2026: Our paper, Heisenberg-limited Hamiltonian Learning without Short-time Control, was selected as a Long Talk at AQIS 2026.
- May 2026: I joined the NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) as a Junior Investigator.
- 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 doctoral programs in Quantum Science and Engineering at Harvard, Physics at MIT, and Computer Science at Oxford. I have accepted the offer from Harvard and am excited for the journey ahead!
Selected Papers +
- Heisenberg-limited Hamiltonian learning without short-time control
(with Myeongjin Shin, Changhun Oh)
PRX Quantum (2026), AQIS 2026 (Long talk)
- Certifying and learning local quantum Hamiltonians
(with Andreas Bluhm, Matthias C. Caro, Francisco Escudero Gutiérrez, Aadil Oufkir, Cambyse Rouzé, Myeongjin Shin)
TQC 2026 (Contributed talk)
- Efficient learning of bosonic Gaussian unitaries
(with Marco Fanizza, Vishnu Iyer, Antonio Anna Mele, Francesco Anna Mele)
QIP 2026 (Contributed talk)
- Resource-efficient algorithm for estimating the trace of quantum state powers
(with Myeongjin Shin, Seungwoo Lee, Kabgyun Jeong)
Quantum 9, 1832 (2025)
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:
Current Mentees:
- Hugo Mackay (Harvard, 2026–): quantum many-body theory.
- Herchel Smith Undergraduate Science Research Program (2026, in collaboration with Prof. Anurag Anshu)
- Arul Rhik Mazumder (Imperial College London, 2026–): quantum circuit synthesis.
- Jaemin Park (SNU, 2026–): quantum algorithm.
- Donghwa Ji (SNU, 2025–): spectral gap problem.
- Mingyu Lee (SNU, 2024–): quantum circuit complexity and unitary designs.
- Internship at the University of Oxford (2026, in collaboration with Dr. Sathyawageeswar Subramanian)
- Myeongjin Shin (KAIST, 2023–): quantum hamiltonian learning and testing.
- SURF at Caltech (2026, in collaboration with Profs. Yu Tong and John Preskill)
Former Mentees:
- Kartik Anand (IIT Goa, 2025–2026): quantum hamiltonian complexity and polynomial hierarchy.
I welcome inquiries from undergraduate students interested in research. If you would like to discuss potential projects or collaborations, please feel free to reach out by email.
Teaching +
- Organizer & Lecturer, Quantum Learning Theory for Bosonic and Fermionic Systems, Winter 2026
- Invited Lecturer, Quantum Complexity Theory Reading Group, Fall 2025
- Invited Lecturer, Quantum Learning and Complexity Theory, Summer 2025
- Instructor, AAA559: College of Informatics Internship (II) (Graduate Course), Korea University, Fall 2025
- Instructor, AAA558: College of Informatics Internship (I) (Graduate Course), Korea University, Fall 2025
- Instructor, SW4343: Software Field Placement (I), Korea Aerospace University, Fall 2024
- Teaching Assistant, YCS1009: Change the World through Programming, Fall 2022
- Teaching Assistant, YCS1002: Software Programming, Fall 2022
- Teaching Assistant, EEE1108: Engineering Information Processing, Fall 2021
- Course Tutor, MAT2016: Engineering Mathematics (III), Spring 2022 (Best Tutor Award)
- Course Tutor, MAT1012: Engineering Mathematics (II), Fall 2021 (Best Tutor Award)