Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 29/06/2026Physics & Football Rooting for @gtlandi.bsky.social’s Brazil 100
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 26/05/2026I'm highly excited to share our new PRX paper on measuring the dynamics of transmon ionization using a ten-level transmon qudit. The work is a collaboration between the Blok Lab at the University of Rochester and the Blais group at Université de Sherbrooke 1/4 110
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 02/04/2026“Every hour you spend confused is an hour you spend building the infrastructure inside your own head that will eventually let you do original work. There is no shortcut through that process that doesn't leave you diminished on the other side.” 022
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 19/03/2026John Preskill expressing thanks to quantum pioneers of the past century and wishing good fortune to the audience, the quantum explorers of the future in an inspiring talk at #APSSummit26 #quantum 041
Reposted by Machiel BlokNicole Yunger Halpern @nicoleyh11.bsky.social · 27/01/2026Announcing the symposium Quantum Thermodynamics and Decoherence! Registration is free and now open. Highlights include a keynote by a physics-inspired novelist and poster-session prizes for students/postdocs. Join us in New York June 3–4! qtd-hub.umd.edu/event/sympos...qtd-hub.umd.eduQuantum Thermodynamics and Decoherence | Quantum-Thermodynamics HubJoint with the Center for Coherence and Quantum Science (CQS). 031
Reposted by Machiel BlokEli LF @elilevensonfalk.bsky.social · 19/12/2025The semester is finally over, so it's time for me to post the memes my students made for extra credit on their final (Physics 438b: Quantum Mechanics). As always, good memes are the result of my inspiring teaching, bad memes are the result of kids these days. Let's start it off! 1285
Reposted by Machiel BlokUniversity of Rochester @urochester.bsky.social · 09/10/2025The same quantum tunneling honored by this year’s #NobelPrize is driving #URochesterResearch @machielblok.bsky.social is building quantum systems that do what classical computers can’t—inspired by the same fundamental questions uofr.us/48o7I0K #QuantumPhysics #QuantumComputinguofr.usQuantum tunneling: URochester physicist explains a Nobel Prize–winning discoveryMachiel Blok’s research in superconducting circuits builds on the quantum tunneling effects recognized by the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. 063
Reposted by Machiel BlokEmmanuel Flurin @manuflurin.bsky.social · 07/10/2025What it really feels like interacting with your physics heroes! Such a beautiful and fundamental prize 🤩 www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physi...media.tenor.coma close up of a statue of yoda with the words `` learning you are '' written above him .ALT: a close up of a statue of yoda with the words `` learning you are '' written above him . 041
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 07/10/2025In the excitement over today's well-deserved #nobel announcement for Clarke, Devoret and Martinis, I looked up the 2017 symposium in honor of John Clarke's scientific achievements at UC Berkeley that I attended as a postdoc. I was thrilled to find the recordings on YouTube tinyurl.com/mrx6umcr 130
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 07/10/2025sc circuits!! www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physi...nobelprize.orgNobel Prize in Physics 2025The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 was awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electri... 030
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 25/09/2025We are hiring in theoretical quantum info / complex systems ! apply.interfolio.com/173432apply.interfolio.com Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio 162
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 12/09/2025Fridge day! @bluefors.com @urochester.bsky.social 192
Reposted by Machiel BlokFree DC @freedcproject.bsky.social · 06/09/2025This is what democracy looks like! A people united will never be defeated. We want federal forces out of DC NOW! #WeAreAllDC #FreeDC 254168404880
Reposted by Machiel BlokCas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 09/08/2025Why are so many people so obsessed with “Google Scholar fraud”? Another example of someone creating a few citations — no, you don’t get a job/promotion because you have 132 citations. And the “meta study” found 144 suspected cases out of 1 million (!) profiles.science.orgHow easy is it to fudge your scientific rank? Meet Larry, the world’s most cited cat“Exercise in absurdity” reveals flaws in Google Scholar’s productivity metrics 1359
Reposted by Machiel BlokJohn Preskill @preskill.bsky.social · 29/07/2025Mark Saffman reviews the remarkable recent progress on quantum computing with neutral atoms. podcast.newquantumera.com/57podcast.newquantumera.comThe New Quantum Era - innovation in quantum computing, science and technology | Neutral Atom Qubits with Mark SaffmanIn this episode of The New Quantum Era, host Sebastian Hassinger sits down with Dr. Mark Saffman, a leading expert in atomic physics and quantum information science. As a professor at the Universit... 0161
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 17/07/2025What connects The Matrix, to Hilbert Space, to Spins with large angular moment? Our recent PRX on efficient qudit control with large-spin rotations ! www.rochester.edu/newscenter/h... #URQuantum #Rochester #Quantum #Quditsrochester.eduResearchers discover more efficient way to route information in quantum computersUsing qudits, University of Rochester scientists have solved a notoriously difficult problem involving Hilbert space, or the quantum matrix. 141
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 07/07/2025In Trento for the BeyondQubit workshop. Looking forward to a conference dedicated to Qudits! #quantum #qudits #beyondqubit 030
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 27/06/2025Ended cqs-12 with an amazing public talk by Nicole Yunger Halpern on quantum steampunk #cqs2025 020
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 26/06/2025Final day of cqs-12 kicked off by Pedram Roushan from Google Quantum AI on simulating lattice gauge theories and condensed matter systems with Willow #cqs2025 #quantum #Rochester 010
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 26/06/2025Misha Lukin at cqs-12: We got a preview of these very impressive new results on repeated error correction in neutral atoms, posted on the arxiv today arxiv.org/pdf/2506.20661 #cqs2025 #qec #quantum 030
Reposted by Machiel BlokZlatko Minev @zlatko-minev.bsky.social · 26/06/2025🌟 Excited to speak, have played a small advisory board role, and be back here after the last one 6 years ago for the Rochester Conference on Coherence and Quantum Science (CQS-12)! CQS is special, dating back to 1960, bringing together Nobel Laureates & field pioneers #CQS2025 151
Reposted by Machiel BlokEli LF @elilevensonfalk.bsky.social · 24/06/2025You guys my students threw me a surprise tenure party 081
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 23/06/2025Off to a great start of CQS-12 with a keynote by Donna Strickland about the quantum and coherence properties of lasers and including a tribute to Joe Eberly #cqs12 #quantum #coherence #rochester 120
Reposted by Machiel BlokEmmanuel Flurin @manuflurin.bsky.social · 28/05/2025New paper out! We resonantly couple a superconducting heavy-fluxonium qubit ⚛️ to a macroscopic membrane 🥁 oscillating at a few MHz. ~300 repeated interactions let us track its quantum motion, observe back-action & probe non-commuting operators. Diósi–Penrose next? (1/8) arxiv.org/abs/2505.21481arxiv.orgProbing the quantum motion of a macroscopic mechanical oscillator with a radio-frequency superconducting qubitLong-lived mechanical resonators like drums oscillating at MHz frequencies and operating in the quantum regime offer a powerful platform for quantum technologies and tests of fundamental physics. Yet,... 1204
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 10/04/202510 days left for early-bird registration for CQS-12! Hope to see you in Rochester in June for many quantum interactions! If you can not attend yourself, please consider sharing with colleagues or group members. #CQS12 #quantum #QIS 020
Reposted by Machiel BlokDavide Castelvecchi @castelvecchi.bsky.social · 25/03/2025Move over, qubits: Quantum computing based on higher-dimensional 'qudits' (working with a Hilbert space of dimension d>2) offers potential advantages — but the devil could be in the details. A short 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comMeet ‘qudits’: more complex cousins of qubits boost quantum computingWorking with multi-dimensional entities could make calculations more efficient and reduce errors. 1114
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 26/03/2025"If I could go back in time to my old self, I would tell her: why waste time with qubits" says Christine Muschik in a very nice qudit overview article in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comMeet ‘qudits’: more complex cousins of qubits boost quantum computingWorking with multi-dimensional entities could make calculations more efficient and reduce errors. 031
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 12/03/2025🌟 The 12th Rochester Conference on Coherence and Quantum Science (CQS-12) will be held June 23-27, 2025 in Rochester, NY! 🌟 CQS has a rich history dating back to 1960 and brought together Nobel Laureates & field pioneers. www.sas.rochester.edu/quantum/cqs/... #CQS2025 #QuantumScience #Physics 1167
Reposted by Machiel BlokPhysics World @physicsworld.bsky.social · 13/02/2025Cool cats. Physicists at UNSW are the first to succeed in creating and manipulating quantum superpositions of a single, large nuclear spin. 🧪⚛️ ow.ly/gH2j50UZv88ow.lySchrödinger's cat states appear in the nuclear spin state of antimony – Physics WorldNew finding will be important for applications in quantum information processing and quantum error correction 0344
Reposted by Machiel BlokCas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 11/02/2025This is the one article to read on contemporary (and future) U.S. politics. Laid out analytically and clearly. There is a hint of optimism (which I do not share but do appreciate).foreignaffairs.comThe Path to American AuthoritarianismWhat comes after democratic breakdown. 6231120
Reposted by Machiel BlokCas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 03/02/2025As social and traditional media continue to favor "catastrophizing" and "liberal outrage", the growing group of (wannabe) pundits keep upping their dramatic predictions and drowning out the few actual experts with insightful analyses. Trump pays off for both far-right and liberal grifters. 1337
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 23/01/2025First time I am hearing about Quantum Circuit Born Machines. From a brief glance at the paper, this looks like it could be an important result! I’m a little surprised it is not discussed more in the #quantum sphere here. Thoughts? 230
Reposted by Machiel BlokCTSI at URochester Medicine @ur-ctsi.bsky.social · 14/01/2025Hey, University of Rochester researchers! Did you know there's a starter pack for you?! Check it out, follow your colleagues, and reach out to @urochester.bsky.social to be added to the pack! go.bsky.app/AhmHd8J 142
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 15/01/2025Beautiful work by the Morello group on creating a Schrödinger cat state in nuclear spin qudits (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) Along with a visually stunning video www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJVM...youtube.comSchrödinger cat states of a nuclear spin qudit in siliconYouTube video by UNSW 0143
Reposted by Machiel BlokChris Ferrie @csferrie.com · 11/01/2025Rainy weekend project: condense 125 years of quantum physics into 1! The "Quantum Year" calendar is interactive. Feedback welcome. #IYQ2025 #QuantumYear #QuantumComputingcsferrie.medium.com2025 is NOT the Quantum Year — This is 👇125 years of quantum physics condensed into a calendar year 1259
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 02/01/2025It is graduate admission season! Question to colleagues: How do you read/write recommendation letters. I have no issue identifying the best of the best. But between all the 'warm', 'strong', 'enthusiastic' recommendations, how can they be distinguished? 010
Reposted by Machiel BlokCas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 30/12/2024If I would be dictator for a day, I would mandate that you are only allowed to published graphs that show the full range of the y-axis. 68924125
Reposted by Machiel BlokEli LF @elilevensonfalk.bsky.social · 26/12/2024I'm teaching quantum again this semester. Midterms are the second weeks of February and March, final is first week of May. Set your meme calendars accordingly 1173
Reposted by Machiel BlokEli LF @elilevensonfalk.bsky.social · 16/12/2024My take on different interpretations of quantum mechanics is that I will devote serious thought to them as soon as they make one (1) testable prediction 2132
Reposted by Machiel BlokJohn Preskill @preskill.bsky.social · 09/12/2024I was thrilled to hear about the surface code when Alexei Kitaev visited @caltech.edu in April 1997. It's heartening to see the hardware catching up with the theory of quantum error correction. There's still far to go but this is encouraging progress. www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-comp...quantamagazine.orgQuantum Computers Cross Critical Error Threshold | Quanta MagazineIn a first, researchers have shown that adding more “qubits” to a quantum computer can make it more resilient. It’s an essential step on the long road to practical applications. 29217
Reposted by Machiel BlokMartin Bauer @martinmbauer.bsky.social · 07/12/20242-dimensional analogies are often used to motivate physical concepts in our 3+1 dimensional world. But a world with 2 space and 1 time dimensions would look *very* different from our world Some crucial differences:🧵 1/10 58017
Reposted by Machiel BlokAndreas Wallraff @andreasateth.bsky.social · 30/11/2024Let me know if you want your #quantum tagged posts to be listed in this quantum feed: bsky.app/profile/did:... . 81649
Reposted by Machiel BlokCecilia Padilla-Iglesias @ceciliapad.bsky.social · 29/11/2024We had heard about the challenges posed by motherhood within academia, but what about the previous stage? @ecfreewoman.bsky.social & I wrote our story for @science.org on how the academic system makes it almost impossible for women to even plan for a family ❤️🩹: www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgAs women in academia, having children can feel impossible. Talking about it makes us feel less aloneThe struggle is “balancing their careers not just with motherhood, but with what comes before: relationships and planning for a family,” these postdocs write 721890
Reposted by Machiel BlokChris Ferrie @csferrie.com · 25/11/2024Dad: [Hands waving] Magnets work because quantum field theory reveals spin, an intrinsic angular momentum from Lorentz symmetries. In bulk elements with unpaired electrons, exchange interactions align spins, creating a coherent macroscopic magnetic moment and fields, sweetie. 2173
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 24/11/2024Fun feature! Creating a word cloud based on your google scholar scholargoggler.com 131
Reposted by Machiel BlokDulwich Quantum Computing @dulwichquantum.bsky.social · 23/11/2024Turns out you can play Bach on an MRI scanner. 292
Reposted by Machiel BlokRakhim Davletkali @rakhim.org · 23/11/202495% of articles/videos about quantum computing say "the number of states of qubits grows exponentially", and then show something like this (see pic) BUT THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME FOR CLASSICAL BITS! You're literally showing 2^n states of n two-state bits. That's how math works. What is your point? 1152
Machiel Blok @machielblok.bsky.social · 22/11/2024Love this Amsterdam (Ajax) Rochester (Kodak) connection! 020