Iman Marvian

Iman Marvian is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment (50/50) in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Physics at Duke University. He is also a member of the Duke Quantum Center. His research focuses on quantum information and computation theory, with applications spanning quantum algorithms, quantum error correction, quantum thermodynamics, and quantum resource theories.

Dr. Marvian received his Ph.D. in Physics in 2012 from the University of Waterloo and Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada. His doctoral thesis was titled "Symmetry, Asymmetry and Quantum Information." After completing his PhD, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern California (November 2012-August 2015) and MIT (September 2015-December 2017) before joining Duke University as an assistant professor in January 2018.

Marvian's research spans several interconnected areas within quantum information science. His work on symmetric quantum circuits has revealed fundamental limitations on what can be achieved with local symmetric operations, showing that generic symmetric unitaries cannot be implemented using only local symmetric unitaries. In quantum thermodynamics and resource theories, he has made significant contributions to understanding coherence, asymmetry, and the fundamental limits of quantum thermal machines. His research on quantum algorithms includes work on spectral estimation, quantum singular value decomposition, and universal quantum emulation. He has also contributed to understanding symmetry-protected topological order and quantum speed limits.

Marvian's research group has produced significant results in understanding the role of symmetries in quantum computation, particularly regarding the limitations imposed by conservation laws. His work demonstrates that while 2-local unitaries can generate any unitary transformation without symmetry constraints, this universality breaks down when continuous symmetries are present. This has implications for quantum simulation, quantum error correction, and understanding the fundamental limits of quantum computing architectures.

Dr. Marvian has received several prestigious awards, including:

• National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2021)

Dr. Marvian actively mentors PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. His current group includes Postdoctoral Researchers Dr. David Jakab and Dr. Nikolaos Koukoulekidis, and PhD students Austin Hulse, Shiv Akshar Yadavalli, Yash Chitgopekar, Plato Deliyannis, Govind Sidhardh, Sujay Kazi, and Shrigyan Brahmachari (jointly supervised with Prof. Henry Pfister). His former group member Hanqing Liu is currently a Postdoc at LANL. Dr. Marvian teaches courses including PHYSICS 623: Quantum Information Theory, PHYSICS 380: Introduction to Quantum Information Science, MATH 363: Introduction to Quantum Information Science, and ECE 623: Quantum Information Theory.

Dr. Marvian's research is conducted through his theoretical quantum information group at Duke University, where he collaborates with experimentalists and theorists across disciplines to advance our understanding of quantum information processing and its applications.