Prof. Wei Guo (Florida State University) Colloquium

Monday Nov 2, 2026, 8:30 AM → 7:30 PM US/Eastern

https://eng.famu.fsu.edu/mae/people/guo

Prof. Guo's Cryogenics Lab combines advanced cryogenic platforms with state-of-the-art laser and magnet technologies to enable precision control and measurement of quantum fluids and solids. This unique experimental capability allows us to pursue research spanning fundamental quantum hydrodynamics, quantum sensing and information science, accelerator cryogenics, and particle-physics applications. We seek highly motivated students interested in hands-on experiments and interdisciplinary research at the frontier of quantum science and cryogenic engineering.

8:30 AM → 10:00 AM Pickup at Cumberland House and Breakfast

Speaker: Prof. Adrian Del Maestro (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

10:00 AM → 10:30 AM Meeting with UTK Physics & Astronomy Faculty

Speaker: Zachary Nicolaou

10:30 AM → 11:00 AM Meeting with UTK Physics & Astronomy Faculty

Speakers: Prof. Adrian Del Maestro (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), Hatem Barghathi

11:00 AM → 11:30 AM Meeting with UTK Physics & Astronomy Faculty

Speaker: Yang Zhang

11:30 AM → 12:00 PM Meeting with UTK Physics & Astronomy Faculty

Speaker: Jian Liu (University of Tennessee)

12:00 PM → 1:30 PM Lunch

Speakers: Prof. Adrian Del Maestro (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), Jian Liu (University of Tennessee), Yang Zhang

1:30 PM → 2:00 PM Meeting with UTK Physics & Astronomy Faculty

Speaker: Wonhee Ko (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

2:00 PM → 2:30 PM Meeting with UTK Physics & Astronomy Faculty

Haocun Yu, Nielsen 515

2:30 PM → 3:00 PM Meeting with UTK Physics & Astronomy Faculty

Speaker: Michael Guidry

3:00 PM → 3:30 PM Pre-Colloquium Reception

3:30 PM → 4:30 PM Colloquium: Quantum Fluids and Solids as Platforms for Quantum Science and Technology

Quantum fluids and solids (QFS) exhibit remarkable macroscopic quantum phenomena and provide exceptionally clean environments for exploring fundamental physics and developing emerging quantum technologies. Superfluid helium-4 (He II), for example, supports frictionless superflow and quantized vortices, while cryogenic surfaces such as liquid helium and solid neon can naturally trap electrons in vacuum with minimal environmental disturbance. In this colloquium, I will discuss our efforts to explore and harness these unusual properties of cryogenic quantum matter. I will begin by introducing He II as a model quantum fluid and describing advanced flow-visualization techniques that allow us to directly probe quantized vortex dynamics, quantum turbulence, and related nonequilibrium phenomena. I will highlight our recent studies of vortex reconnections, quantum dissipation associated with vortex rings, and coherent vortex structures. I will then turn to emerging opportunities for using quantum fluids as platforms for quantum sensing, including our recent work with magnetically levitated He II droplets. Finally, I will discuss our efforts to develop qubits based on single electrons trapped on solid neon surfaces. Recent electron-on-neon experiments have demonstrated excellent coherence, but scaling the platform to larger and more controllable qubit arrays remains a major challenge. I will describe a new architecture based on magnetically levitated solid-neon microparticles that may offer a pathway toward scalable electron-qubit systems. Together, these studies illustrate how quantum fluids and solids can bridge fundamental discoveries in macroscopic quantum physics with emerging opportunities in quantum science and technology.

Speaker: Prof. Wei Guo (FAMU-FSU)

4:30 PM → 5:15 PM Meeting with Graduate Students

5:30 PM → 7:00 PM Dinner

Adrian Del Maestro, Yang Zhang