About Me
Hi! I am Ahana and I am currently an Abrahams Postdoctoral Fellow, a distinguished postdoctoral position offered by Center for Materials Theory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.
My research in theoretical condensed matter physics and quantum information science began at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. My primary research involved understanding the role of memory of initial conditions in the dynamics of many body open quantum systems and disordered systems under supervision of Prof. Rajdeep Sensarma. I obtained my PhD in Physics in 2019 based on the thesis titled "Memory of Initial Conditions in Quantum Many Body Dynamics: A Non-Equilibrium Field Theoretic Approach". My doctoral thesis was award the Best Thesis Award 2020 (Honourable Mention) by the institute for "developing a field theoretical formalism to study dynamics of quantum many-body system and calculating entanglement entropy of Bosonic many body systems".
Thereafter, I joined as a guest scientist at Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPIPKS), Dresden, Germany in 2019. I worked with the "Strongly Correlated Light-Matter Systems" group led by Prof. Francesco Piazza. At MPIPKS, my research explored novel possibilities of inducing superconductivity mediated by cavity and controlling it by engineering quantum states of light. A part of my ongoing research revolves around the broader theme of manipulation of quantum material and associated collective phenomena by quantum light.
Since joining Rutgers in 2021 as an Abrahams Postdoctoral Fellow, I have been actively exploring various avenues within the realm of non-equilibrium dynamics in open quantum systems. I am currently collaborating with Prof. Piers Coleman and Prof. Premi Chandra, along with their respective groups and collaborators, to investigate light-induced structural phase transitions in polar materials. Additionally, I am also investigating the non-unitary dynamics of monitored quantum circuits and measurement-induced entanglement phase transitions in collaboration with Prof Jed Pixley and his group.
Achievements
Awarded the distinguished postdoctoral fellowship, Abrahams Postdoctoral Associateship, by Center for Materials Theory, Rutgers University, USA in 2021
Awarded postdoctoral employment offer by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany in 2021 (declined)
Awarded the Best Thesis Award (Honorable mention) in 2020 for my doctoral thesis by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India for “developing a field theoretical formalism to study of quantum many-body system and calculating entanglement entropy of Bosonic many body systems”
Award title: “The TAA-GEETA UDGAONKAR Best Thesis Award 2020” (Honorable mention)Awarded “Professor Sukumar Biswas Ph.D. Student Award for Excellence in Physics” for scoring highest grades in graduate courses in Physics in Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India in 2015
Received the Sarojini Damodaran travel grant for attending the APS March meeting at Los Angeles in 2018 by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India
Received The PBC Fellowship for “Outstanding Chinese and Indian Post-Doctoral Fellows” in Israel in 2019 (declined) Proposed supervisor: Prof. Emanuele Dalla Torre
Secured rank 1st among all undergraduate students in Physics in 2012 from University of Calcutta, India.
Awarded the prestigious PC Chandra Gold Medal Award for securing highest marks among all undergraduates from Bethune College, India 2012.
Secured rank 2nd among all masters students in Physics in 2014 from University of Calcutta, India.
Awarded INSPIRE SCHOLARSHIP in 2009 by Department of Science and Technology, India for being within top 1% students appeared in West Bengal Board of Higher Secondary Education in India
Ranked 51st in Joint CSIR-UGC-NET(JRF) - 2013 examination, an all India based examination for awarding PhD fellowships and lectureship.
Ranked 28th in Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) -2014 examination, an all India based entrance examination in PhD program