Yu-An Chen is an Assistant Professor at the International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University.

He received dual bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 2015 and obtained his Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in June 2020. He was a research scientist at Google’s Quantum AI team and the Joint Quantum Institute Fellow at the the University of Maryland, College Park, from September 2020 to June 2023. He joined the Peking University in July 2023.

His research focuses on the theoretical study of strongly interacting topological phases and their applications in quantum information science, with interests spanning topological quantum field theory, lattice gauge theory, algebraic topology, and quantum error correction. In the study of bosonization—mappings between fermionic and bosonic systems—he developed locality-preserving bosonization schemes applicable in two and higher spatial dimensions. By incorporating algebraic topology and field-theoretic structures, he formulated a theoretical framework for the fermion–boson duality, which serves to broaden the understanding and classification of topological phases. In the context of quantum computing and quantum simulation, he proposed quantum simulation protocols for fermionic systems and designed novel high-efficiency quantum error-correcting codes based on topological order. He has also extended the application of algebraic topology and braided fusion categories to condensed matter systems, constructing exactly solvable lattice models and providing a systematic classification of two-dimensional invertible fermionic topological phases with chirality and symmetry, particularly in the presence of strong interactions.

His current research interests include topological phases of matter, gravitational anomalies, Pauli stabilizer codes, quantum cellular automata, and fermionic quantum error correction. He has published over 20 papers in international journals such as PRX Quantum and Physical Review Letters.

Personal Webpage：https://icqm.pku.edu.cn/yw/directory/faculty/936409.htm

Google Scholar：https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=fvFgUMsAAAAJ