PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Roger G. Melko

Also known as Roger Melko

Roger Melko is a computational physicist at the University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute who brought neural networks into the study of quantum matter. After a physics PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2005 and a Wigner Fellowship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he joined Waterloo's physics department in 2007. With Juan Carrasquilla he posted "Machine learning phases of matter" in 2016, which showed that a standard neural network can detect phases of matter, and in 2018 he founded the Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab. He won the 2012 IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics, the 2016 Herzberg Medal and the 2021 Brockhouse Medal. He is a professor of physics at Waterloo and an associate faculty member at Perimeter, and he co-founded Open Quantum Design, which announced an open-source trapped-ion quantum computer in January 2025.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 2000–2005

    Waterloo degrees, Santa Barbara PhD

    He earns a BSc in physics at the University of Waterloo in 2000 and an MSc there in 2001. As a master's student, he and collaborators run simulations that predict new phases of matter, including a low-temperature spin ice state now known as the Melko state. A PhD in physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara follows in 2005.

  2. 2005–2007

    A Wigner Fellowship at Oak Ridge

    From 2005 to 2007, he is a Tennessee Wigner Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In 2007, he takes up a professor position in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo.

  3. 2012–2016

    IUPAP prize and Herzberg Medal

    The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) awards him its Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics in 2012. The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) follows with its Herzberg Medal in 2016.

  4. 2015–2017

    Machine learning phases of matter

    In late 2015, he begins exploring machine learning research, and in May 2016 he and Juan Carrasquilla post "Machine learning phases of matter", which shows that a standard feed-forward neural network can detect phases and phase transitions in condensed matter systems. In August 2016, he co-organizes the Quantum Machine Learning conference at Perimeter, and Nature Physics publishes the paper in 2017.

  5. 2017–2018

    Quantum state tomography with neural networks

    In 2017, he is a coauthor, with Giacomo Torlai, Guglielmo Mazzola, Juan Carrasquilla, Matthias Troyer and Giuseppe Carleo, of a paper on many-body quantum state tomography with neural networks. The paper shows that machine learning can reconstruct highly entangled quantum states and quantities such as the entanglement entropy from simple measurements, and Nature Physics publishes it in 2018.

  6. 2017–2018

    Founding the Quantum Intelligence Lab

    In 2017, he becomes affiliate faculty at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and a scientific lead at Creative Destruction Labs. He founds the Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab (PIQuIL) in 2018, a research centre and training hub for AI and quantum systems. His own work develops novel algorithms and machine learning methods for research in quantum physics.

  7. 2021

    A Brockhouse Medal

    The Canadian Association of Physicists and its Division of Condensed Matter and Materials Physics award him the 2021 Brockhouse Medal for his work on many-body quantum systems through large-scale computer simulations. Perimeter's announcement notes that his research since 2016 unifies artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum many-body physics.

  8. As of October 2026

    Open Quantum Design and PIQuIL

    He is a professor of physics at the University of Waterloo, an associate faculty member at Perimeter Institute and the founder of PIQuIL. In 2024, he and Juan Carrasquilla publish a Nature Computational Science perspective on using the algorithmic structure of large language models to advance quantum computing. In January 2025, Open Quantum Design, the Waterloo non-profit he co-founded with Crystal Senko, Rajibul Islam and Greg Dick, announces an open-source, full-stack, trapped-ion quantum computer.

Career

  1. Since 2018Perimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsFounder, Associate Faculty Member
  2. Since 2007University of WaterlooProfessor of Physics
  3. From 2017Vector InstituteAffiliate Faculty
  4. From 2017Creative Destruction LabsScientific Lead
  5. 2005–2007UT-BattelleTennessee Wigner Fellow
  6. Open Quantum DesignCo-Founder

Education

  1. 2005University of California, Santa BarbaraPhD
  2. 2001University of WaterlooMSc
  3. 2000University of WaterlooBSc

From the biography.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Waterloo. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Waterloo. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Waterloo. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Waterloo. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Roger G. Melko yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Roger Melko | Physics and Astronomy | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Roger Melko wins Brockhouse Medal | PI News perimeterinstitute.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Roger Melko | Perimeter Institute perimeterinstitute.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Quantum machine learning | PI News insidetheperimeter.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. [1605.01735] Machine learning phases of matter arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. The Neural Network: How artificial intelligence is fuelling "Phasebook" | PI News perimeterinstitute.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. [1703.05334] Many-body quantum state tomography with neural networks arxiv.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. Perimeter Institute Quantum Intelligence Lab (PIQuIL) | Perimeter Institute perimeterinstitute.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. Roger G. Melko - Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence vectorinstitute.ai. Checked 22 October 2026.
  10. Open Quantum Design Announced World’s First Open-Source Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer Platform thequantuminsider.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  11. The Future of AI in Physics | PI News perimeterinstitute.ca. Checked 22 October 2026.