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 Fellowship.
At Harvard, I am affiliated with the Harvard Quantum Initiative and the Theory of Computation Group. I am also a Junior Investigator at the NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI).
I am interested in quantum many-body physics, computational complexity, algorithmic statistics, and problems at their intersections. More broadly, my research spans both foundational theoretical questions in quantum information science and the practical use of quantum technologies.
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.
📄 Curriculum Vitae (Last updated: July 15, 2026)
🔗 LinkedIn | Google Scholar | arXiv | X (formerly Twitter)
📨 junseolee at fas.harvard.edu
News +
- 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)
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)