Eric Zhu is an undergraduate student in physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), with research interests at the intersection of theoretical physics and cutting-edge experimental platforms in atomic, molecular and optical physics.
Zhu will pursue doctoral studies at Harvard University in fall 2026. He hopes to use quantum simulators — devices with rapidly growing capabilities for coherent control over quantum degrees of freedom — to experimentally probe questions that were once thought to be purely theoretical.
At UCSB, Zhu worked in the lab of Dr. David Weld, using ultracold Bose-Einstein condensates for projects ranging from precision measurement with matter-wave interferometry to simulating resonantly modulated optical cavities for dynamics in curved spacetimes. He was awarded UCSB’s Worster Research Fellowship to fund his contributions. Zhu’s research was also two-pronged, working with advisors in UCSB’s theoretical physics department to develop proposals for quantum simulation.
Born in Florida and raised in California, Zhu is a classically trained pianist and violinist who now enjoys improvisation and music production.
