The Team

Mohammad Ayyash

Chief Executive Officer

  • Mohammad finished a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Physics from the University of Waterloo. Then, he completed a Master’s degree in Physics (Quantum Information) from the Institute for Quantum Computing. He is currently a Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Quantum Computing. His research interests lie in the theory of light-matter interactions for applications in quantum information, computing, error correction, and sensing. Outside of academia, Mohammad trains and teaches Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as hobby.

Christopher Xu

Chief Technology Officer

  • Chris is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, with an Honours Bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto. He enjoys directly exploring the world of physics with experiments because you can “put your finger on it”. Playing basketball and making strange music is what he indulges after work.

Noah Gorgichuk

Chief Operations Officer

  • After finishing a combined honours in physics and astronomy undergraduate at the University of Victoria, Noah started his PhD in quantum information at the Institute for Quantum Computing, affiliated with the University of Waterloo. Noah's research interests currently explore various theoretical and experimental topics in the context of circuit quantum electrodynamics, with a particular emphasis on dissipative environments. Outside of his academic pursuits, Noah finds relaxation and enjoyment in hiking and fishing.

Matteo Mariantoni

Chief Visionary Officer

  • Matteo Mariantoni received a Master of Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. After completing his doctorate at both the Walther-Meissner-Institute for Low Temperature Research and the Technical University of Munich in 2009, Mariantoni was awarded the Elings Prize Fellowship in Science of the California NanoSystem Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara. While in Santa Barbara, his implementation of a quantum memory and processor on a single chip using a “quantum von Neumann architecture” was ranked as one of the top 10 breakthroughs for 2011 by Physics World.

    Mariantoni moved to the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), University of Waterloo as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 2013. In the same year, he was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in recognition of his distinguished performance and unique potential to make substantial contributions to his field. In 2014, he was also awarded the Ontario Early Researcher Award, as well as the Kavli Fellowship.

    Currently, Mariantoni leads the Laboratory for Digital Quantum Matter at IQC. He and his team focus on developing novel technologies for extensible computing architectures using superconducting devices as well as on materials to implement high quality qubits.