Office: NPB #2331
Email: le.zhao@ufl.edu
Office: NPB #2331
Email: le.zhao@ufl.edu
Lexu Zhao (Gavin)
Ph.D. in Physics (Theory), University of Florida, 2024-Now
B.S. in Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, 2020-2024
B.S. in Physics (Astrophysics), University of California, San Diego, 2020-2024
My research spans theoretical condensed matter physics and AI in fundamental science. I’m interested in correlated many-body quantum systems, topological quantum matter, machine learning for science, and quantum computing. Previously, I worked in stellar astrophysics, including spectral classification and machine learning of main-sequence stars and cool dwarfs. The big picture of my research is building AI techniques to uncover new physical theories, from small-scale quantum systems to the large-scale structure of the universe.
Ph.D. in Physics, University of Florida, 2024-now
Research areas: Condensed Matter Theory, AI in fundamental Science (correlated quantum many-body systems, topological quantum matter, physics-informed machine learning, and quantum computing)
Teaching: Lab Instructor - Undergraduate Lab Course
Advisor: Jiabin Yu
B.S. in Physics, Astrophysics (Honor), University of California, San Diego, 2020-2024
B.S. in Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, 2020-2024
Research areas: Stellar Astrophysics, Primordial Blackholes and Dark Matter
UCSD Cool Star Lab: Summer 2023 Research Member
Selected Conferences: 243RD MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY NEW ORLEANS 2024; 2023 Summer Research Conference at UC San Diego (SRC)
Award: 2023 Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA)
Leadership: 2021-2022 President of Astronomy Club @ UC San Diego
Advisor: Chris Theissen
APS Global Physics Summit - March 2026
Presented our work on Wilson-Loop-Ideal Bands in Tight-Binding Models (abstract) and contributed to two additional oral presentations as co-authors on Machine-Learning Accelerated Calculations of Correlation Functions (abstract) and Two-magnon excitations in altermagnetism probed by inelastic light scattering (abstract).
245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, National Harbor, Maryland — January 2025
Co-authored Cool Stars, Hot Tech: Spectral Typing of M, L, and T Dwarfs with Machine Learning, presented by Tianxing Zhou (abstract).
243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society, New Orleans, Louisiana — January 2024
Presented our work on Innovative Template Creation for Spectral Typing: A Study of Gaia DR3's Low-Resolution Spectra (abstract).
2023 NASA L’SPACE Academy Fellow: Advancing in NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience
I was a part of NASA’s L’SPACE (Lucy Student Pipeline Accelerator and Competency Enabler) Academy. Working with a cross-disciplinary team, I led a concept proposal addressing a challenge in the Exploration Destination Systems (TX07) domain—covering mission operations and in-situ resource utilization. We connected our work to the objectives of the Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids.
2023 Undergraduate Summer Research Award, University of California, San Diego
Selected for the Undergraduate Summer Research Award (7,500$) by the Dean of the School of Physical Sciences. The award supports my ongoing research, Spectral Typing all of Gaia Data Release 3: A Study of Low-Resolution Spectra.
2023 August 16th, Summer Research Conference (SRC), UC San Diego
My work focused on creating spectral templates to facilitate comprehensive studies of stars and stellar populations, using the vast, precise data from the Gaia satellite. The core objective was to augment the precision and reliability of these templates, thereby providing a tool for expansive astronomical studies and enriching our understanding of stellar phenomena. Recording: Astronomy & Astrophysics session
2023 Physics Honors Program, UC San Diego
Selected for the Physics Honors Program in Fall 2023 and recognized for exceptional academic and research performance. Contributed to the academic community by presenting research at UC San Diego’s Undergraduate Research Conference (URC).