Alexander Kemper

Dr. Alexander (Lex) Kemper is an Associate Dean for Research and Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at North Carolina State University (NC State), within the College of Sciences. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Florida (2010), followed by postdoctoral research at Stanford University/SLAC National Lab and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab as an Alvarez Fellow. He joined NC State in 2015 as an Assistant Professor, advancing to his current roles.

His research focuses on quantum materials in and out of equilibrium, combining ultrafast laser experiments with computational modeling. Key areas include non-equilibrium dynamics in correlated materials, pump-probe spectroscopy, and quantum computing algorithms for simulating condensed matter systems. He received an NSF CAREER Award in 2018 for studying light-induced phases in 2D materials.

Research interests span superconductivity (cuprates and Fe-based systems), electron-phonon coupling, and quantum machine learning applications. His lab develops software tools like eigenvector continuation and Hankel projections to study many-body systems. Recent work addresses quantum state preparation resilience, fast scrambling in hyperbolic models, and geometric quantum algorithms.

Current lab members include graduate researchers (Anjali Agrawal, Heba Labib) and undergraduates (Liam Doak, Arvin Kushwaha). Alumni include notable contributors like Akhil Francis and Avinash Rustagi. Collaborations involve experimentalists in ultrafast spectroscopy and quantum hardware teams.

Publications (2025) highlight advances in quantum algorithms (e.g., error mitigation, horizontal gates) and experimental techniques (correlation-ARPES, RIXS). His work bridges theoretical predictions with quantum hardware implementation, aiming to solve complex materials physics challenges on near-term quantum devices.