physics

Marissa Giustina

Marissa Giustina is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Marissa Giustina rather than just read about it. In short: Marissa Giustina is an American physicist who is a senior research scientist at the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab. Her research considers the development of quantum computing and experimental tests of quantum theory.

Key takeaways

Marissa Giustina belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Marissa Giustina to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Marissa Giustina from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Marissa Giustina is an American physicist who is a senior research scientist at the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab. Her research considers the development of quantum computing and experimental tests of quantum theory.

Early life and education Giustina became interested in computing as a child. She was an undergraduate student in mathematics at the Mary Baldwin University, where she had one woman physics teacher, who inspired her to pursue a career in engineering. She moved to the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College for undergraduate and graduate studies, where she was mentored by Lorenza Viola. Her research considered the photoresponse of black silicon below the silicon bandgap. She moved to the University of Vienna in 2010, where she started doctoral research in the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information. As part of her research, she developed an experiment to demonstrate quantum entanglement. The equipment was based at the Hofburg Palace , and generated entangled pairs of photons which were coupled into glass fibres that were carried to measurement stations. The measurement stations included a random number generator to choose which orientation to measure the photon polarization in, and superconducting detectors to determine whether the photons had arrived. Her research provided validation for quantum entanglement. The extraordinary detection sensitivity and spatial separation between the pair of detectors were enough to make the result a definitive proof of entanglement. Her research on loophole-free texting of Bell experiments was recognized with the Paul Ehrenfest Best Paper Award.

Research and career Giustina joined the Google Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab in 2016. She develops quantum computers, which store information in a compressed form using quantum states. Her quantum computers are based on nonlinear superconducting elements, which comprise a Josephson junction integrated as a non-linear element. This type of circuit operates at frequencies close to 5 GHz and produces two discrete states (0 and 1) as well as superpositions of states. She is working to improve the functionality of quantum processors and attempting overcome decoherence. Giustina serves on the advisory board of the United States Department of Energy National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee. In 2020, she was selected as one of Fortune's 40 Under 40, and in 2021 she was listed in the Future Tech Awards Future 50. In 2021, Giustina took part in Homeward Bound, an Australian leadership program.

Selected publications Marissa Giustina; Marijn A M Versteegh; Sören Wengerowsky; et al. (16 December 2015). "Significant-Loophole-Free Test of Bell's Theorem with Entangled Photons". Physical Review Letters. 115 (25) 250401. arXiv:1511.03190. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.115.250401. ISSN 0031-9007. PMID 26722905. Wikidata Q50744887. Frank Arute; Kunal Arya; Ryan Babbush; et al. (23 October 2019). "Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor". Nature. 574 (7779): 505–510. arXiv:1910.11333. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1666-5. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 31645734. Wikidata Q78878570. Marissa Giustina; Alexandra Mech; Sven Ramelow; et al. (14 April 2013). "Bell violation using entangled photons without the fair-sampling assumption". Nature. 497 (7448): 227–230. arXiv:1212.0533. doi:10.1038/nature12012. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 23584590. Wikidata Q46601665.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Marissa Giustina

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Marissa Giustina claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Marissa Giustina before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Marissa Giustina ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Marissa Giustina

In research: Marissa Giustina appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Marissa Giustina in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Marissa Giustina is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American quantum physicists, Dartmouth College alumni, Google people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Marissa Giustina outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Marissa Giustina in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Marissa Giustina means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Marissa Giustina out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Marissa Giustina in simple terms?

Why does Marissa Giustina matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Marissa Giustina?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Marissa Giustina.