Vasilisa Malenkiy, YC’2027 Physics (Intensive) major and a Wright Lab undergraduate working with the David Moore group, was recently awarded the Caltech WAVE Fellowship for Summer 2026. Malenkiy will conduct research in President Thomas Rosenbaum’s lab, exploring quantum phase transitions via domain dynamics in microwave-driven quantum quenches.
WAVE is a fully funded, 10-week summer research program designed for undergraduates seriously considering Ph.D. study, combining mentored research with robust academic and professional training.
Malenkiy explained, “The project explores how a three-dimensional quantum magnet, LiHoχY1-χF4, behaves when it is rapidly driven across a quantum phase transition. In this crystal, the microscopic magnetic moments can switch between an ordered (ferromagnetic) state and a disordered (paramagnetic) state. Using short microwave pulses, we’ll abruptly shift the boundary between these phases on microsecond timescales comparable to the material’s intrinsic magnetic dynamics. Because the change is so rapid, the system is pushed out of equilibrium.”
Malenkiy continued, “This controlled ‘quantum quench’ allows us to observe how magnetic domains—regions where the moments align—form, compete, and evolve over time, which we track through measurements of the material’s time-dependent magnetic response. By doing so, we directly test theoretical predictions for nonequilibrium domain dynamics in quantum systems, a regime that remains largely unexplored in three-dimensional materials. Beyond fundamental scientific interest, understanding these dynamics is relevant for developing quantum annealing protocols and scaling up quantum computational platforms.”
This story originally appeared in the Wright Lab news of February 25, 2026, by Victoria Misenti. Please see link to the original story below.