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Dr Hong Qi

Hong

Lecturer in Mathematical Sciences

Email: hong.qi@qmul.ac.uk
Room Number: MB-326
Website: www.hongqi.space
Office Hours: Spring 2024: Tuesday 1-2pm in the School Social Hub MB-B11.

Profile

I am an astrophysicist, focusing on gravitational wave detection and analysis within the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) since late 2013 and been a full LSC member since 2015. Gravitational waves are the last prediction of Einstein's theory of General Relativity, portraying as "ripples" in spacetime generated by accelerated matter. On September 14, 2015, for the first time in human history, the LSC directly detected a gravitational wave from the collision of two black holes, using a pair of 4-km long LIGO detectors. This event was named GW150914, and its detection won three LSC leaders the Nobel Prize of Physics in 2017. By April 2020, the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA collaborations had collaboratively detected 90 gravitational waves.

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) was admitted to the LSC in February 2022, initiated by Dr. Tessa Baker. I joined QMUL in Jan 2023 as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the School of Mathematical Sciences and became the lead of QMUL's LSC Group in Oct 2023. I am interested in all aspects of gravitational wave astronomy and multimessenger astrophysics. Particularly, my current research focuses on developing novel data analysis methods to accelerate gravitational wave detection and parameter estimation. 

Before joining QMUL, I was a Senior Postdoc from March to December 2022 working on detector characterization with Prof. Gaby Gonzalez at Louisiana State University, which is 40 minutes drive from the LIGO Livingston detector site. From Sep 2018 to Mar 2022, I worked as a Research Associate at Cardiff University's Gravity Exploration Institute, focusing on accelerating gravitational wave inference with Dr. Vivien Raymond and dark matter direct search with Prof. Patrick Sutton and Prof. Hartmut Grote. Prior to that, for working on gravitational wave cosmology as well as detection and inference software in the Leonard E Parker Center for Gravitation, Cosmology, and Astrophysics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I received my PhD degree in Physics under the supervision of Prof. Patrick Brady in May 2018.  

 

Teaching

Spring 2024: SAS for Business Intelligence

Research

Publications

My research focuses on applying innovative methods, such as quantum computing, for gravitational wave data analysis and downstream sciences. My research publications can be found here: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/public-libraries/3FaeJR92QEaLL1IqItCOsQ.

Supervision

Current PhD students:
  • Murdoc Newell (2024-) 
Potential students:
For 2024-2025 application season, Dr Qi invites inquiries for a PhD studentship in gravitational wave astronomy. The candidate will apply quantum computing to accelerate gravitational-wave data analysis for source parameter estimation, collaborating with researchers from diverse backgrounds in the 1600-member LIGO Scientific Collaboration. 
This studentship can only be used for home students though this year.
Dr Qi seeks candidates with a strong scientific background who demonstrate:
1. A passion for advancing astronomy research.  
2. A solid foundation in Quantum Computing or Astrophysics.  
3. Proficiency in programming languages, particularly Python.  
4. Experience in data analysis.  
5. Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English.  
6. (Preferred)Prior research experience in quantum computing or gravitational wave research.
Women and underrepresented minorities with the above background are strongly encouraged to inquire.
Dr Qi will support only outstanding candidates in applying for a competitive scholarship to fund the PhD studentship. If your GPA and research performance are outstanding, please reach out to hong.qi@ligo.org. The deadline for inquiries is December 31, 2024. 

Grants

Recent grants:

  • Co-I, 2024-2027, DRAC grant on enabling new gravitational wave discoveries, with PI Dr. Jess McIver, $0.5 M/year.
  • PI, 2023-2024, Emmy Noether Fellowship, awarded by London Mathematical Society in June 2023.
  • PI, 2023, STFC Impact Accelerator Award on Exploring Quantum Computing for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, £27k, awarded in November 2022.
  • Co-I, 2021-2024, Compute Canada grant on Enabling Gravitational Wave Discoveries in O4, with PI Dr. Jess McIver, $1.2M/year.
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