Primary Job Title Faculty Member Primary Organization 
Institute for Quantum Computing
Location Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Regions Great Lakes Gender Male
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Joseph Emerson received his BSc in Physics from McGill University in 1993 followed by a Master’s degree in experimental nuclear physics from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in 1995. The focus of his PhD degree in theoretical physics, also from SFU, was quantum-classical correspondence for chaotic dynamical systems.
In 2001, Emerson became a
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and then at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He studied the interface of randomness, decoherence, and quantum chaos. He developed techniques for understanding and overcoming the challenges confronting the practical implementation of quantum information algorithms.
Professor Emerson initially joined IQC and the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Waterloo as an Assistant Professor in 2005.
Currently an Associate Professor, Emerson researches quantum computing and the foundations of quantum theory. He is interested in quantum information science and the foundations of quantum theory and currently developing methods for assessing and improving the performance of quantum information devices in the presence of noise. This is a key step towards making large-scale quantum information processors viable.
Emerson was awarded an Early Researcher Award in 2008 from Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation for his work on assessing and improving quantum information processing devices. Emerson is also currently an aliate of the Perimeter Institute for Thereotical Physics in Waterloo.
