People
Meet our team
Vivishek Sudhir
Assistant Professor
Administrative Assistant: Galia Stoyanova | email
Theoretical physicists think I’m an experimentalist, while experimentalists think I’m a theorist. I try to do experiments when theory suggests that it’s time to ask nature a question.
The kinds of questions that interest me are at the interface of fundamental physics (“Is gravity quantum?”), precision measurements (“What are the physical limits to measuring displacements and forces?”), and quantum control (“How can quantum systems be made to follow a desired trajectory despite the uncertainty principle?”). These interests may have been tempered by an early predilection for physics after reading ‘A Brief History of Time’ in high school, a subsequent education in electrical engineering, then theoretical quantum optics, and a PhD in quantum measurements and control. I also maintain strong ties with the MIT LIGO Laboratory, where I worked as a postdoc.
It is my firm belief that to do beautiful science, one has to be sensitive to beauty in other spheres of activity; oil painting used to be the primary instrument to explore that, but these days, large format photography takes its place. When the sun is out, I’m also an avid cyclist.
I am a first-year Master’s student in the MIT department of Mechanical Engineering.
My research centers around the use of cavity optomechanics to measure the effects of quantum gravity. My work primarily concerns the isolation of the mirrors from external noise.
Before I was at MIT, I was at the Georgia Institute of Technology where I did my Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. My undergraduate research was at the Micromachined Sensors and Transducers (MiST) lab where I worked on acousto-optic sensors for interventional MRI.
Outside of research, I enjoy learning how to cook new cuisines and making combat robots.
I am a postdoctoral associate in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, MIT from August, 2022 to till date.
I am broadly interested in topics that lie at the interface between gravity and quantum. Specifically, I work on understanding quantum field theoretic effects in non-inertial frames, quantum gravity phenomenology, small scale structure of spacetime, and quantum-to-classical transition. At MIT, currently I am interested in understanding the theoretical aspects of the response of atoms in non-inertial frames, specifically towards an experimental realization of the same.
Before joining MIT, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Dept. of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) Mohali, Punjab, India till June, 2022. I did my Ph.D. on semi-classical aspects of gravity and cosmology at the Dept. of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai, India from Jan, 2012 to Dec, 2017.
Apart from research, I am broadly interested in reading historical and philosophical aspects of physics, their relevance to technology, literature, politics, and the advancement of society in general.
Google Scholar profile | email
I am a PhD student in the MIT department of Mechanical Engineering.
My research focuses on the use of precision measurements to experimentally access quantum gravity regime. Currently, I am working on quantum-limited laser stabilization and feedback cooling of macroscopic mechanical oscillators.
Before coming to MIT, I received B.E. and M.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Tokyo Tech and the University of Tokyo, respectively. Then, I completed my military duty at KAIST as a research associate. My previous research centered around ultrafast lasers, frequency combs, and microengineering.
Outside of research, I enjoy playing sports and cooking.
Past members
I am an undergraduate student at the MIT Physics department, currently in my senior year. I am also associated with MIT Center for Theoretical Physics.
My research interests are centered around high-energy and condensed matter physics. I am interested in studying the contrast of quantum vs. classical evolution in the scope of statistical mechanics. On the other hand, I study the interaction of quantum systems through gravity.
Before coming to MIT as a second-year undergraduate student, I spent a year at Kyiv National University studying physics.
Besides Physics, I participate in social dance events or play bluesy music on my guitar or harmonica.