Alán Aspuru-Guzik
Alán Aspuru-Guzik is a professor of chemistry and computer science at the University of Toronto. His research group studies machine learning, quantum computing, and automated chemistry. He is the chief scientific officer and founder of quantum computing startup Zapata Computing.Early life
Aspuru-Guzik was raised in Mexico City, Mexico. When he was in junior high, he represented Mexico at the International Chemistry Olympiad after which his passion for science, particularly chemistry, grew.
Aspuru-Guzik had obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1999. In 2004, he was awarded a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley He continued at Berkeley as a postdoctoral fellow between 2005 and 2006.Career
From 2006 to 2010, Aspuru-Guzik was an assistant professor at Harvard University, before becoming associate professor in 2010, and professor in 2013. In 2018, Professor Aspuru-Guzik moved to the University of Toronto as a Canada 150 Research Chair.
From 2012 to 2014, Aspuru-Guzik had worked with Michael Aziz, Thomas Dudley Cabot, Roy Gordon and the United States Department of Energy to develop the grid-scale battery which will also use metal-free flow. In 2016, Aspuru-Guzik had worked with Ryan Babbush, a quantum engineer at Google to develop a new algorithm for a quantum computer which will be able to detect various molecules, such as cholesterol.
Since 2018, he has given lectures at the Information Science and Technology Center, Colorado State University, Williams College, and the College of New Jersey.Awards
- 2009 – Dow Foundation Distinguished Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara
- 2009 – Closs Lecturer, University of Chicago
- 2009 – Sloan Research Fellow
- 2010 – Hascoe Distinguished Lecturer, University of Connecticut
- 2010 – American Chemical Society Hewlett-Packard Outstanding Junior Faculty Award
- 2010 – MIT Technology Review Young Innovator Under 35
- 2011 – Big Think Delphi Fellow
- 2012 – Ulam Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratories
- 2012 – Phillips Distinguished Visitor, Haverford College
- 2012 – Elected Fellow, American Physical Society American Physical Society
- 2013 – ACS Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry
- 2013 – Computer World Data+ Award
- 2015 – Information Science and Technology Center Distinguished Lecturer, Colorado State University
- 2015 – Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Senior Fellow
- 2016 – Per-Olov Löwdin Lecturer, Uppsala University
- 2017 – Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 2017–2018; Invited Member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Advanced Materials
- 2018 – Canada 150 Research Chair in Theoretical and Quantum Chemistry
- 2018 – The Phi Beta Kappa Society Visiting Scholar
- 2019 – Canada CIFAR AI Chair, Vector Institute
- 2019 – Senior Fellow, Massey College
- 2019 – Laird Lecture, Memorial University of Newfoundland
