I'm Kristi Beck, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in Atomic Physics at MIT in Cambridge, MA. My research interests include quantum control and applying the techniques of laser cooling and trapping to quantum computing and quantum simulation.

At MIT, I work with Prof. Vladan Vuletic's group. My lab works with a system that consists of an ensemble of cold cesium atoms coupled to a high finesse optical cavity. Recently, we have been investigating how the optical properties of this combined system are altered by the introduction of a few photons and, conversely, how properties of a few photons can be altered by the system. Here's a recent MIT news focus on results that our lab obtained just before I joined: MIT news article on quantum light.

For an overview of the group's work, see the poster I made for the RLE Fair (Fall 2012): [poster]

Outside of the lab, I'm the graduate coordinator for the IQuISE (Interdisicplinary Quantum Information Science and Engineering) program at MIT. I also mentor undergraduate women through a joint program between the undergraduate and graduate women in physics groups. In past years, I've worked on the graduate planning committee for the Northeast Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics. I also enjoy cooking (especially baking breads), needlework and digital scrapbooking.

If you want to get in touch with me or have comments about my website, drop me an email at kbeck [at] mit [dot] edu.