Name: Ben Woods
Title, including department and school you work in: Assistant Professor of Physics in the College of Letters and Science
Hometown: Forest River, ND
Educational/professional background: PhD in physics from West Virginia University (2021), BS in physics from University of North Dakota (2016)
What is your field of research, and how did you get into it? My field of research is the theory of semiconductor quantum dots with applications towards building quantum computers based on spin qubits. I got into the field by obtaining a postdoc in a group whose primary focus is spin qubits.
What attracted you to UW-Madison? There were two main reasons. First my wife got a job as an anesthesiologist at the UW-Madison hospital. Second, the reputation of the physics department.
What was your first visit to campus like? My first visit to campus was in the late Summer of 2021 when I started my postdoc. This was around the time when we got back to semi-normalcy, as Covid restrictions were subsiding. It was enjoyable to be able to interact with numerous people again in the department.
What’s the most important lesson you wish to convey to students? That understanding the natural world, even a small part of it, can be incredibly satisfying and powerful.
What’s something interesting about your area of expertise you can share that will make us sound smarter at parties? That my research involves understanding how to manipulate individual electrons on a length scale of a few billionths of a meter.
Hobbies/other interests: Reading, playing guitar, watching sports, spending time with family and friends.