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Nicole Yunger Halpern

National Institute of Standards and Technology & University of Maryland

RQS Senior Investigator
QuICS Fellow - Nicole Yunger Halpern

Additional Information

Bio

Nicole Yunger Halpern is a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland. She is also a Fellow of the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science and an affiliate of the Joint Quantum Institute. Yunger Halpern re-envisions 19th-century thermodynamics for the 21st century, using the mathematical toolkit of quantum information theory. She received her doctorate in physics from Caltech in 2018.

Recent Publications

Research Group

Affiliated Research Centers

Recent News

  • An intricate, circular steampunk engine with interlocking gears and glowing portals floating against a blue, starry cosmic background.

    UMD to Co-Host Quantum Thermodynamics Symposium Exploring Science and Storytelling

    May 11, 2026

    RQS senior investigator Nicole Yunger Halpern is helping organize a symposium that features a keynote address by science journalist Mark Alpert.

  • A pencil concept sketch of a large round quantum thermodynamics machine.

    Maryland Quantum-Thermodynamics Hub Secures Funding for Three More Years

    September 11, 2025

    Co-led by RQS senior investigators Nicole Yunger Halpern and Christopher Jarzynski, the research hub is dedicated to exploring the intersection of quantum science and thermodynamics.

  • Explains about Quantum Simulations Face the Environment

    Student Perspective: Exploring Quantum Fluctuations with Twesh Upadhyaya

    May 14, 2025

    The physics doctoral student describes the institute's recent work addressing Research Challenge 2: Quantum Simulations Face the Environment.