Team
We are a dynamic & multidisciplinary group
We are deeply committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming group environment & believe that a broad spectrum of backgrounds, perspectives, & life experiences enrich our collective experience of science & ability to solve complex problems. We welcome students & postdocs of all genders, races, ages, sexual orientations, & disability statuses.
The team!
From left to right: Srijan, Zach, Patrick, Anthony, Matt, Nanako, Monica, Bert, Andrés, Tony, Tom
PI: Andrés Montoya-Castillo
Email: andres.montoyacastillo@colorado.edu
Andrés is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder and affiliated faculty in the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Program. His research interests center around developing and applying theory and simulation methods to investigate the dynamics of chemical processes in the condensed phase.
For more details, see About Andrés.
Srijan Bhattacharyya (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Srijan.Bhattacharyya@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Polaron formation and transport, path integrals, algorithm development for near-term quantum computing devices, & DMRG.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
M.Sc. in Chemistry, IIT Kanpur, India
B.Sc. in Chemistry, Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, India
Zhen Cai (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Zhen.Cai@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Tensor networks, quantum algorithms, dissipative dynamics.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
M.Sc. in Physics, Imperial College London, UK
M.Eng. in Materials Science & Engineering, Imperial College London, UK
B.Eng. in Materials Science & Engineering, Imperial College London, UK
Bert Cham (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Bertram.Cham@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Machine learning for physics in the condensed phase and spectroscopy, dimensionality reduction techniques.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
B.S. in Chemistry, Chatham College, US
Anthony Dominic (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Anthony.Dominiciii@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Atomistic simulation, semiclassical theory, dimensionality reduction techniques, & Markov state models.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
B.S. in Chemistry & Math, North Central College, US
Ethan Fink (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Ethan.Fink@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Electron and proton transfer reactions in the condensed phase, diabatization, and semiclassical dynamics.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
B.S. in Chemistry & Math, Virginia Tech, US
Matthew Laskowski (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Matthew.Laskowski@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Semiclassical simulations, generalized quantum master equations, charge transport.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
B.S. in Chemistry, University of Maryland, US
Tianchu Li (Postdoctoral Scholar)
Email: Tianchu.Li@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Tensor networks, nonequilibrium quantum dynamics, quantum sensing.
Education:
Ph.D. in Theoretical & Computational Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Advisor: Prof. Qiang Shi
B.S. in Chemistry, Nanjing University
Nanako Shitara (Graduate student, Physics)
Email: Nanako.Shitara@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Non-Gaussian Noise spectroscopy, decoherence in near-term quantum devices, quantum computing, NV centers.
Education:
Physics, CU Boulder
M.Sc. in Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan
B.Sc. in Physics, University of Otago, New Zealand
Pranay Venkatesh (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Pranay.Venkatesh@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Non-Gaussian Noise Spectroscopy, Decoherence in Quantum Sensors, Molecular Magnets, Phase Transitions, Optoelectronics.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
M.Sc. Chemistry, BITS Pilani, India
B.E. Chemical Engineering, BITS Pilani, India
Zach Wiethorn (Graduate student, Chemical Physics)
Email: Zachary.Wiethorn@colorado.edu
Research Focus:
Perturbative & non-perturbative approaches to condensed phase spectroscopy. Many-body theory & Gaussian field theories.
Education:
Chemical Physics, CU Boulder
B.S. in Chemistry & Minor in Math, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Alumni
Jack Good: Jack was a high school student in the group (2021-2022). He is currently an undergraduate student at Cornell University.
Lena Niepelt: Lena was a master's student from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) who joined our group (Fall 2024 - Spring 2025) to do her thesis research in biophysics and dimensionality reduction.
Tom Sayer: Tom was a postdoc in the group (2021-2024). He is now an independent postdoc at Durham University (UK) supported by the prestigious Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship.
Arian Vezvaee: Arian was a postdoc in the group (2021-2023). He is a postdoc Prof. Daniel Lidar's group at the University of Southern California.
Collaborators
Scott Cushing, Caltech
Kelly Gaffney, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory & Stanford University
Naomi Ginsberg, UC Berkeley
Xuhui Huang, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Christine Isborn, UC Merced
Katie Klymko, NERSC
Amber Krummel, Colorado State University
Yuezhi Mao, San Diego State University
Jennifer Ogilvie, University of Ottowa
William Pfalzgraff, Chatham University
Becky Rapf, Trinity University
Justin Sambur, Colorado State University
Shuo Sun, University of Colorado, Boulder & JILA
Norm Tubman, NASA Ames
Tim van Driel, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Joe Zadrozny, Ohio State University
Tim Zuehlsdorff, Oregon State University