Antonios Alvertis Joins UT Austin to Advance Quantum Materials and Computational Physics

The Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences is pleased to announce the appointment of Antonios Alvertis, principal faculty member and assistant professor in physics, begining January 2026. He holds a joint position between the Oden Institute and the Department of Physics in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.

Alvertis is a theoretical physicist whose research combines high-performance computing and quantum computing to study how matter behaves at the atomic scale. His work mixes theory, computation, and experiment to better understand the quantum interactions that determine the properties of materials used in technologies such as solar cells, superconductors, and LEDs.

“A lot of the macroscopic properties that define how materials behave are determined by interactions between atoms,” Alvertis said. “A rigorous theoretical understanding of these small-scale phenomena is essential for discovering new properties and applications.”

Alvertis develops theoretical and computational methods that connect simplified models of materials with large-scale first-principles simulations. This approach allows researchers to accurately predict complex many-body behaviors and design materials with desired electronic or optical characteristics.

“My research aims to connect these methods by deriving simplified models directly from first-principles calculations and then solving them with near-exact techniques tailored to specific materials,” he explained. “This can help guide the design of superconductors, photocatalysts, and other advanced technologies.”

His recent work has clarified how energy losses in LEDs can be minimized, how electrons separate in solar cells, and how external conditions such as temperature or pressure affect material performance.

Alvertis also explores how emerging quantum computers can be used to simulate quantum materials. “Quantum computers can represent electrons in a material directly through qubits - or a quantum bit,” he said. “The question is how we can harness that capability to learn something new about phenomena like high-temperature superconductivity.”

By creating simplified yet faithful models of materials, his group will make it possible to study properties that remain inaccessible to traditional methods, potentially paving the way for new generations of energy-efficient devices.

Collaboration is central to Alvertis’s philosophy of research. “Exciting frontiers are often reached by combining ideas from different fields,” he said. “As a theorist, maintaining close ties with experimentalists helps validate and refine my models, and that interplay between theory and experiment is crucial.”

“The hire of Antonios Alvertis represents a strategically important investment at the intersection of physics, advanced computation, and quantum science at UT Austin,” said Pablo Laguna, professor and chair of the Department of Physics. “Antonios’s appointment will strengthen the partnership between the Department of Physics and the Oden Institute, and his work uniting advanced computational science with forefront quantum materials research will help position UT Austin as a leader in quantum computing-enabled materials discovery.”

He is equally committed to mentorship, encouraging students and postdocs to pursue their ideas with independence and creativity. “Less experienced researchers often have the most disruptive ideas,” he noted. “Providing them with the tools to explore those ideas is an important part of the research process.”

Originally from Greece, Alvertis earned his undergraduate degree in Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a master’s degree at Technische Universität Dresden. He completed his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Cambridge, where his thesis received both the Cavendish Ph.D. Prize and the Springer Thesis Award.

He later conducted postdoctoral research at University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, followed by a research scientist position at NASA Ames Research Center, where he deepened his expertise in quantum computing and its applications to materials science. His accomplishments have been recognized by the Theoretical Physics Award of the Academy of Athens (2024) and selection as a finalist for the Volker Heine Research Award (2025).

Alvertis said he was drawn to UT Austin for its unique combination of foundational science and computational excellence. “The Oden Institute places tremendous emphasis on computation as a driver of scientific progress,” he said. “It is one of the few places where you can bring together physics, mathematics, and computer science to study problems that are otherwise too complex to solve.”

He looks forward to collaborating across departments and research centers. “Some of my favorite works have come from combining ideas from different fields,” he added. “That kind of environment, where computational science meets physics and engineering, is exactly what makes Oden so special.”