SC Connecticut News

As the fall semester approached, Michael Hatridge eagerly awaited the arrival of his lab from its previous location at the University of Pittsburgh. In the meantime, Hatridge, who had officially moved into his office in the Becton Center, focused on theoretical work.

“But I really love the tinkering more — I’m not in it for the paperwork,” he said. “I really love to be in the lab.”

Hatridge, a new faculty member at Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, works on expanding quantum computing capabilities. His research focuses on optimizing how qubits—units of information in quantum computing—communicate with each other. These qubits have properties that could enable quantum computers to perform calculations significantly faster than classical supercomputers.

In the latest edition of “Office Hours,” a Q&A series introducing new Yale faculty members to the community, Hatridge discusses his research, how failure plays a role in it, and why he named a piece of lab equipment after a Looney Tunes character.

When asked about his lab's mission, Hatridge stated: "The goal right now is to build quantum circuits that are big enough and strange enough to push quantum computing forward. There are certain well-known platforms that are followed by places like IBM and Google. That route was picked 10 years ago, but it’s very inefficient and cannot be the best way. That way, the quantum computer is very far away."

He added that while he does not aim to build thousand-bit machines in his laboratory, he might construct 10-bit or 20-bit machines to capture enough complexity to demonstrate viable routes for building quantum computers.

Regarding failure in his work, Hatridge explained: "Yes. My fridges are named after Quixotic heroes. Deliberately because I told my graduate students that it’s a better way of understanding the path that they’re on: You’re not on some heroic journey; you’re really tilting at windmills." He mentioned naming one fridge Wile E. Coyote and another The Brain from "Pinky and the Brain," emphasizing this as a productive mindset for graduate school.

On generating ideas, Hatridge remarked: "I don’t know exactly how they come about, but we haven’t run out of ideas yet." He noted that during COVID-19 lockdowns, they were forced to become theorists temporarily and re-examine accepted wisdom in their field.

Outside work, Hatridge enjoys reading various genres and occasionally golfing. He shared: "I golf very badly a little. I read books a lot... When you’re stuck on airplanes or whatever, I always have my Kindle."