CV & Talks

education, positions, awards, service, and invited talks

Contact Information

Name Jong Yeon Lee
Email jongyeon@illinois.edu
Website https://yeon-lee.github.io

Experience

  • 2025 - present

    Seoul, Korea

    Quantum Universe Scholar
    Korea Institute for Advanced Study
  • 2024 - present

    Urbana, IL

    Assistant Professor, Department of Physics
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    • Anthony Leggett Institute of Condensed Matter Theory
    • Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center (IQUIST)
  • 2023 - 2024

    Berkeley, CA

    Research Scholar
    University of California, Berkeley
    • Host: Ehud Altman
  • 2020 - 2023

    Santa Barbara, CA

    Gordon and Betty Moore Postdoctoral Fellow
    Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
    • Hosts: Matthew Fisher and Cenke Xu

Education

  • 2015 - 2020

    Cambridge, MA

    PhD
    Harvard University
    Physics
    • Advisor: Ashvin Vishwanath; thesis committee: Subir Sachdev and Philip Kim
    • Thesis: Fractionalization, Emergent Gauge Dynamics, and Topology in Quantum Matter
  • 2011 - 2015

    Pasadena, CA

    BS/MS
    California Institute of Technology
    Physics and Mathematics
    • Academic advisor: John Preskill
    • Rank 2 of 239
    • Richard P. Feynman Prize in Theoretical Physics (2015)

Awards and Honors

2026: Microsoft Quantum Pioneers Program Award, Software Track ("From Logical Spectroscopy to Hardware-Aware qLDPC Compilation")
2026: KSEA Young Investigator Grant Award
2025–2028: IBM-IIDAI Research Grant
2022: Outstanding Young Researcher Award (for outstanding achievements by junior Korean physicists)
2020–2023: Gordon and Betty Moore Fellowship, Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics
2015: Richard P. Feynman Prize in Theoretical Physics, Caltech (awarded annually to a senior who has demonstrated excellence in theoretical physics)
2011–2015: Korean Presidential Scholarship (granted annually to exceptional students from Korea to study abroad)
2011: Physics Research Tutorial Fellowship, Caltech (granted annually to a small group of freshmen)
2007: International Astronomy Olympiad, Gold Medal (top place)

Service

  • Organizer, IQUIST seminar, 2025–2026
  • Organizer, Institute of Condensed Matter Theory seminar, 2025–2026
  • Faculty hiring committee for Quantum Information Theory, 2025–26
  • Organizer, UIUC–UChicago joint workshop, 2025
  • Referee for Science, Nature, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review X, PRX Quantum, Physical Review A, Physical Review B, and Physical Review E
  • Editorial Advisory Board member, APS Open Science

Teaching

  • Physics 213 / 214 — University Physics: Thermal Physics and Quantum Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Fall 2026
  • Physics 504 — Statistical Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Spring 2026
  • Physics 598 — Many-Body Physics of Information, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Spring 2025

Invited Talks

  • Microsoft Quantum Pioneer Forum, Aug 14, 2026
  • Condensed Matter Seminar, California Institute of Technology, Oct 27, 2025
  • Q-farm Seminar, Stanford University, Apr 12, 2025
  • Kadanoff Seminar, University of Chicago, Feb 24, 2025
  • Condensed Matter Theory Seminar, Texas A&M University, Feb 14, 2025
  • Condensed Matter Seminar, University of Texas at Austin, Feb 13, 2025
  • KIAS-IBS-PCS Workshop on Correlation and Topology in Quantum Matter, Dec 18–21, 2023
  • New Horizons in Condensed Matter Physics 2023, Nov 3–5, 2023
  • US-Korea Conference 2023 on Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, Aug 5, 2023
  • Quantum Colloquium, Korea University, May 17, 2023
  • Special Seminar, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, May 10, 2023
  • Special Seminar, Pohang University of Science and Technology, May 9, 2023
  • Special Seminar, Seoul National University, May 4, 2023
  • Special Seminar, Binghamton University, Mar 3, 2023
  • Quantum Information Seminar, Purdue University, Feb 23, 2023
  • Special Seminar, University of Pittsburgh, Feb 21, 2023
  • Special Condensed Matter Physics Seminar, Northwestern University, Feb 15, 2023
  • Physics and Astronomy Colloquium, Rice University, Feb 13, 2023
  • Institute of Condensed Matter Physics Seminar, UIUC, Feb 9, 2023
  • IQUIST Seminar, UIUC, Feb 7, 2023
  • KAIX Future of Physics Workshop, Dec 27, 2022
  • KITP Program: Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum Systems, Sep 22, 2022
  • Condensed Matter Seminar, Caltech, Sep 7, 2022
  • Gordon Research Seminar: Correlated Electron Systems, Jun 26, 2022
  • AKPA-KPS Symposium, May 15, 2022
  • Physics Colloquium, Carnegie Mellon University, Feb 7, 2022
  • Correlated Electrons Virtual International Seminars (CEVIS), May 27, 2021
  • Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, Apr 1, 2020
  • Condensed Matter Seminar, Institute of Solid State Physics, Japan, Jan 17, 2020
  • Microsoft Quantum Research Institute, Oct 22, 2019
  • The 3rd EPiQS-TMS Alliance Workshop on Topological Phenomena in Quantum Materials (TPQM2019), Oct 21, 2019
  • The 5th Conference on Condensed Matter Physics (CCMP-2019), China, invited session, Jun 29, 2019
  • Invited Seminar, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Apr 16, 2019
  • Condensed Matter Physics Seminar, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Jan 11, 2019
  • Condensed Matter Physics Seminar, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Jan 7, 2019
  • Condensed Matter Seminar, Institute of Solid State Physics, Japan, Dec 18, 2018
  • Condensed Matter Seminar, MIT, Sep 17, 2018