Reece Robertson

Reece Robertson

Baltimore, Maryland, USA | reecerobertson@umbc.edu

I am a computer science PhD candidate (ABD), with an emphasis in quantum information science, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). My advisor is Dr. Sebastian Deffner. I am a member of the Quantum Thermodynamics Group at UMBC. My research interest are quantum information science, error-assisted quantun algoirthms, quantum artificial intelligence, quantum networking, and quantum cryptography.

I also work part-time as a Quantum Computing Engineer, Specialist for KBR. At KBR I work on quantum algorithm design, quantum error correction, and architecture-aware algorithm compilation and resource estimation.

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Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science
May 2026
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD, USA
Master of Science in Computer Science
December 2024
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD, USA
Bachelor of Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics
April 2022
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT, USA

Research Experience

Quantum Computing Engineer, Specialist
May 2021 — Present
KBR
Chantilly, VA, USA
  • Developing software tool for hardware-aware quantum algorithm compilation and resource estimation.
  • Researching quantum error correction routines and quantum search algorithms.
  • Implementing Qiskit (Python) quantum solutions on 10+ hardware platforms for practical applications.
  • Tied for first place and earned advanced distinction in all 2021 — 2024 IBM Quantum Challenges.
Quantum Computing Summer School Fellow
June 2025 — August 2025
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM, USA
  • Investigated noise-aware variational algorithm optimization using tensor networks (JAX) on HPC system.
  • Presented results to senior researchers and laboratory directorship.
  • Studied emergent research in quantum information science.
Undergraduate Researcher in Quantum Field Theory
July 2020 — May 2021
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT, USA
  • Studied interaction of elementary particles in square potential well using partial differential equations.
  • Presented weekly on topics in quantum field theory.

Teaching Experience

Quantum Computing & Software Development Guest Lecturer
August 2022 — December 2024
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD, USA
  • Lectured bimonthly to graduate and undergraduate students on quantum computation and programming.
  • Organized symposium between 20+ computer scientists and quantum physicists.
  • Facilitated group and individual project presentation events for 100+ students.
  • Fielded questions regarding lecture material and community best practices.
Quantum Computing, Coding Theory, & Software Development Teaching Assistant
August 2022 — December 2024
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD, USA
  • Mentored 300+ graduate and upper-class undergraduate students in quantum computing and coding theory.
  • Mentored 150+ upper-class undergraduate students throughout the software development life cycle.
  • Wrote weekly course material using LaTeX.
  • Graded weekly assignments and provided individualized feedback to students.
Instructor for Qubit by Qubit High School Summer Program for UMBC
July 2024
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD, USA
  • Taught 15+ high school students foundational principles of quantum information science.
  • Guided students in quantum software research and development projects.
  • Fostered continuing research collaboration with an exceptional student.
Algorithm Design Lab Teaching Assistant
August 2021 — December 2021
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT, USA
  • Taught 90+ undergraduates in Python programming and essential programming concepts.
  • Trained students to effectively write and debug code for 8 hours per week.

Publications

Presentations

Students

Undergraduate Researchers

Press

Awards