School Notes: School of Engineering & Applied Science
November/December 2020

SEAS professor leads new national quantum center

Yale will play a major role in a new, national center for quantum research. The Codesign Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA), led by Brookhaven National Laboratory, launches with funding of $115 million from the US Department of Energy over five years. Steven Girvin, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics at Yale, will serve as director with a dual appointment at Yale and Brookhaven’s Energy and Photon Sciences Directorate. Scientists and engineers from 24 institutions will participate in C2QA with the goal of dramatically advancing quantum information processing and communication. The center includes many prominent Yale researchers, such as Robert Schoelkopf, Charles Ahn, Michel Devoret, Leonid Glazman, Peter Rakich, and Hong Tang. 

Tsai CITY names new faculty director

The Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY) has named Anjelica Gonzalez, associate professor of biomedical engineering, as its new faculty director. Tsai CITY, which launched in 2017, is designed to inspire students to innovate solutions to real-world problems. Gonzalez, who has focused on the development of biomimetic materials for use in the investigation of immunology, inflammation, and fibrosis, will help advance Tsai CITY’s vision. Yale provost Scott Strobel noted that Gonzalez’s approach to innovation makes her appointment a great fit for Tsai CITY. “Professor Gonzalez’s work exemplifies the creative, collaborative approaches Tsai CITY aims to foster in its growing community,” he said.

Asphalt adds to air pollution

Yale researchers found that asphalt is a significant source of air pollutants in urban areas, especially on hot and sunny days. In the journal Science Advances, the research team, led by Drew Gentner, associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering, found that common road and roofing asphalts produced complex mixtures of organic compounds, including hazardous pollutants, in a range of typical temperature and solar conditions. Specifically, many of these compounds can lead to secondary organic aerosol (SOA), a major contributor of PM2.5—an important regulated air pollutant comprising particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter—that have significant effects on public health.