About Me

I am a PhD student at Michigan State University, studying computational mathematics. My main motivation is to develop numerical software for solving cutting-edge scientific problems. My biggest project as a PhD student has been devloping QuantumGateDesign.jl, an open-source Julia package that solves quantum optimal control problems (e.g. shaping control pulses to implement quantum logic gates) quickly by using a high-order Hermite method and a continuous control pulse model.

In general, my interests include applying numerical methods to problems in science and industry, writing scientific software, making cool visualizations, and good pedagogy.

Publications

• High-Order Hermite Optimization: Fast and Exact Gradient Computation in Open-Loop Quantum Optimal Control using a Discrete Adjoint Approach

Software

• QuantumGateDesign.jl Tutorial - SIAM Annual Meeting 2025

• QuantumGateDesign.jl

• My Github

Blog Posts

• 2025-07-17: A Short Introduction to Quantum Optimal Control

• 2024-04-26: Machine Precision Effects on Finite Difference Methods

Contact

• Email: leespen1@msu.edu

"Be it known that, waiving all argument, I take the good old fashioned ground that the whale is a fish."