The QUEST organizational structure is based on a two-layer system. The primary layer is a small team, members of which work on well-defined projects that fit under the QUEST scientific mandate. The second layer comprises of an `extended family' of T-Division personnel interested in QUEST research areas who are available for discussion and loose-knit collaboration with the QUEST team but do not have to be formally associated with it. The interface between these two layers will not be rigid and movement of people in both directions with time is not only to be expected but will be encouraged (depending on resources available) through an informal ongoing process.
From a scientific productivity and collaboration perspective, it appears to be a good idea to keep the central QUEST team small but allow for sufficient mobility within the QUEST/T-Division pool so that ideas and people do not stagnate. QUEST will mainly function as an incubation site for new projects thereby facilitating the establishment of major new initiatives. A central idea behind QUEST is to have multiple projects that stimulate the imaginations of the QUEST team and the rest of the Division.
The QUEST Team
The present QUEST team consists of:
Alexander Balatsky (T-11)
[quantum materials and devices, local probes]
Tanmoy Bhattacharya
(T-8) [state control, cold atoms, information, supercomputing]
Salman Habib (T-8)
[quantum materials and devices, cold atoms, control,
supercomputing]
Daniel James (T-4)
[cold atoms, information, quantum optics and devices]
Ivar Martin (T-11)
[quantum materials and devices, local probes]
Eddy Timmermans (T-4)
[cold atoms]
QUEST Students/Post-Docs
As part of the focus on recruitment and engagement with universities, the following students and post-docs have been associated with QUEST: Souma Chaudhury (GRA), David Etlinger (GRA), Shohini Ghose (GRA), Benjamin Greenbaum (GRA), John Grondalski (PD), Asa Hopkins (GRA), Kurt Jacobs (PD), Dima Mozyrsky (PD), Zohar Nussinov (PD), Steve Paik (UGRA), Rodney Polkinghorne (GRA), Alexander Shnirman (PD), Daniel Steck (PD), and Jian-Xin Zhu (PD).
QUEST Opportunities and Spin-Offs
QUEST research activities will be monitored by an external advisory group of distinguished physicists who will advise the QUEST team on research directions and provide feedback on QUEST performance. The advisory group will also be consulted for their opinions on new research activities proposed for QUEST by T-Division researchers. Boris Altshuler (Princeton), Jeff Kimble (Caltech), Tony Leggett (Urbana), Charlie Marcus (Harvard), and Mark Raizen (Texas) have agreed to serve as external advisors.
QUEST is not primarily aimed at promoting large projects but rather at incubating new, innovative ideas. Once an activity is deemed to become too large for QUEST, it will be spun-off as a separate entity. This process should be handled within QUEST in conjunction with the Division's program development effort.
Back to QUEST Home Page.
| Salman Habib / T-8 / LANL / habib@shiva.lanl.gov / revised February 02 |  |