Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics - Yale School of Engineering ...

Acknowledgements
I would first like to thank my advisor Rob Schoelkopf. He gave me the freedom to explore an
amazing world of quantum physics, while his guidance prevented me from ever feeling lost in all of
its complexity. He taught me what it means to be a scientist, and the importance of eliminating
ground loops. I will always remember our late night brainstorming sessions, and his willingness to
suspend more critical demands to provide advice. Most of all I thank him for creating RSL and
giving me the opportunity to participate.
I have been fortunate to work with many amazing people in the course of this research. In
particular, most of the work presented in this thesis was the joint effort of Andreas Wallraff and
myself. His influence on me runs deep extending from small things like my (near fanatical) use of
mathematica and my much improved graphics design skills to the way I now approach experimental
questions. More importantly, Andreas has become one of my closest friends. More recent work,
presented in sections 4.3, 8.3.1, and 9.3, related to the “Transmon” was performed with my evil
twin, Andrew Houck. His scientific abilities are matched only by his unbounded enthusiasm, and
hopefully the former is as contagious as his excitement. I thank Alexandre Blais and Jay Gambetta
for teaching me everything I know about cavity QED and quantum measurement. Their patience
exceeds even Andrew’s optimism. I also owe a great debt to Luigi Frunzio for teaching me everything
I know about the dark arts of fabrication.
Steve Girvin has an uncanny ability to make tangible connections between theory and experiment,
while simultaneously telling a hilarious story. Similarly, I often found myself emerging from Michel
Devoret’s office with new understanding of a question much deeper than the one with which I had
entered. Dan Prober is to be thanked not only for his direct role in helping to convince me to come
to Yale, serving on my committee, and advising me throughout my time here, but also for helping
to build such an amazing community on the 4 th floor.
My lab mates have made graduate school the best of times, providing help, camaraderie, and close
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