Zohreh Davoudi

Zohreh Davoudi is an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland and a QuICS Fellow. Davoudi is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics, and Quantum Information Science. She applies classical- and quantum-simulation methods to find solutions to computationally challenging problems in her field. Davoudi's expertise is in lattice gauge theory, a theoretical and computational framework that enables first-principles simulations of matter from its fundamental constituents as described by the Standard Model of Particle Physics. In the Quantum-Information-Science world, she explores analog, digital, and hybrid approaches to simulating quantum field theories of Nature with a range of quantum-simulating and quantum-computing platforms, from trapped-ions to solid-state systems. Besides developing quantum algorithms for simulating gauge theories and engaging in experimental collaborations, she is interested in finding deeper connections between gauge theories and quantum entanglement, quantum information, and quantum thermodynamics. 

Davoudi received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, before moving to the U.S. to continue her studies in Theoretical Physics at the University of Washington in Seattle. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2014, she joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Theoretical Physics as a post-doctoral research associate. She was appointed to a faculty position at the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland in 2017. Her work is recognized by a Wilson Award for Excellence in Lattice Gauge Theory, a Sloan Research Fellowship, and a Department of Energy's Early Career Award. Beside her appointment at the Physics Department, Davoudi is a fellow of Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, and a senior investigator and Associate Director for Education at the National Science Foundation's Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation. She was also affiliated with the RIKEN research program from 2017-2020. Davoudi was appointed a QuICS Fellow in 2023.

Davoudi's publications can be found on Google Scholars and her academic activities are summarized in her webpage.