The Q-Ontic Lab brings together physicists, mathematicians, educators, and visualization makers across the globe. Our collaboration combines expertise in quantum foundations, numerical computation, mathematical physics, and physics education to develop interactive simulations that enable comparative exploration of quantum mechanics' interpretative frameworks.
Core Team
Jean Bricmont
Emeritus Professor of Physics
Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Renowned mathematical physicist and philosopher of science. Pioneer in rigorous
approaches to quantum mechanics and Bohmian mechanics. Author of influential works
on quantum foundations and the philosophy of physics.
Research Areas
Quantum mechanics, Bohmian mechanics, quantum foundations, philosophy of science, statistical mechanics
Anssi Kuha
Teacher / Graphics Artist
Imagining Physics
Helsinki, Finland
Author of the Imagining Physics YouTube channel.
Turns physics and math into videos, animations, and games.
Turns physics and math into videos, animations, and games.
Current Focus
Visualizations: pilot-wave theory and the theory of relativity.
Dustin Lazarovici
Assistant Professor
Mathematical physicist specializing in quantum foundations, Bohmian mechanics, and
interpretational frameworks of quantum mechanics. Expertise in rigorous mathematical
formulations of quantum theory.
Research Areas
Bohmian mechanics, quantum foundations, interpretations of quantum mechanics, mathematical physics
Avraham Merzel
Assistant Professor
Head of the Division of Learning and Instruction
Head of the Division of Learning and Instruction
The Seymour Fox School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel
Physics education researcher specializing in teaching and learning quantum physics at
the secondary school level, and in teacher education. His work explores how conceptual
understanding, mathematical representations, and different interpretations of quantum
mechanics can inform teaching and support students’ understanding of physics.
Research Areas
Quantum physics education, mathematics in physics education, teacher education and professional development
Travis Norsen
Senior Lecturer
Smith College, Department of Physics
Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
Travis has been interested in the foundations of quantum mechanics throughout his
several-decade career as an undergraduate physics teacher. His 2017 textbook
Foundations of Quantum Mechanics was an attempt to survey, systematically, the
several problems with and alternatives to the orthodox textbook formulation of quantum
theory, and he has also written extensively on topics including Bell's theorem and the
de Broglie–Bohm pilot-wave theory.
Research Areas
Quantum foundations, Bell's theorem and nonlocality, de Broglie–Bohm pilot-wave theory, physics teaching
Xavier Oriols
Professor of Electronic Engineering
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
Expert in quantum simulation techniques, stochastic approaches to quantum mechanics,
and computational methods for nanoelectronics. Develops novel simulation strategies
bridging quantum mechanics and classical computation.
Research Areas
Quantum simulation, stochastic interpretations, nanoelectronics, quantum–classical interfaces
Ajit Kumar Sorout
Postdoctoral Researcher
Rice University
Houston, Texas, USA
Theoretical and computational physicist studying quantum foundations, decoherence,
and open quantum systems. At Q-Ontic, he investigates the recoverability of quantum
coherence and develops comparative simulations connecting global, reduced, and
conditioned descriptions of quantum phenomena.
Research Areas
Quantum foundations, decoherence, open quantum systems, quantum field theory,
many-body physics, computational methods
Jared Stenson
Teaching Assistant Professor of Physics
Rice University
Houston, Texas, USA
Contributing to physics education and collaborative activities in the Q-Ontic Lab,
with a focus on computational pedagogy and interactive learning tools.
Focus
Physics education, computational pedagogy, interactive learning
Shadi Tahvildar-Zadeh
Professor of Mathematics
Rutgers University
Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
Mathematical physicist with broad expertise in partial differential equations,
relativistic quantum mechanics, and gravitational theory. Provides rigorous mathematical
foundations for quantum mechanics and field theories.
Research Areas
Mathematical physics, relativistic quantum mechanics, PDEs, gravitational theory
Evelyn Tang
Assistant Professor of Physics
Rice University
Houston, Texas, USA
Theoretical physicist studying living and active matter systems, emergent dynamics,
and out-of-equilibrium phenomena. PhD from MIT (2015), postdoctoral experience at
Max Planck Institute and University of Pennsylvania.
Awards
NSF CAREER Award · IUPAP Interdisciplinary Early Career Prize · Simons–Berkeley Fellowship
Pablo Yepes
Research Professor
Rice University
Houston, Texas, USA
Long-standing interest in the foundations of physics with ample experience in
computational simulations. Principal developer of the Q-Ontic Lab.
Research Interests
Nuclear physics, medical physics, high-performance scientific computing, physics foundations
Collaboration Focus
Our international team unites expertise across multiple disciplines and institutions:
Quantum FoundationsRigorous analysis of Copenhagen, Bohmian, and Many-Worlds interpretations
Computational MethodsGPU-accelerated simulations and real-time numerical integration
Visualization DesignInteractive tools for intuitive quantum understanding
Mathematical FrameworksRigorous formulations of quantum mechanics and interpretive theories
Physics PedagogyNovel approaches to teaching quantum mechanics through representational comparison
Quantum SimulationStochastic and deterministic approaches to quantum computation