Constantin Cedillo Vayson de Pradenne

Hometown: Paris, FRANCE

Three favorite Physics courses and why: 

• Ph 219C was my first introduction to quantum information during my first year at Caltech. I really enjoyed working through the problem sets. This class led me to start doing research in quantum information, which has since become my main area of interest. I'm drawn to it because it combines rigorous mathematics with physical intuition, and because the field is working toward large, foundational questions.
• Ph 220 focused on topics in quantum learning theory, many of which the intructor helped develop. It was the most exciting and up-to-date class I've taken since some of the proofs we covered had only been discovered a few months earlier.
• Ph 231B also aligned strongly with my interests. It continued to bring mathematical rigor and physical intuition. I liked the instructor a lot as well.

Labs or projects you have worked in/on during your time at Caltech: Upcoming work providing the first end-to-end Hamiltonian learning algorithm from access to a single time evolution operator for arbitrarily large times. This work will also provide the first proof of quantum equilibration for random local Hamiltonians. Some negligible cohomology.

Hobbies outside of academics: Tennis/sports.

Favorite study spot/s on campus: SFL 3rd Floor

What drew you to Physics as an option? Understanding how the world works.