Benjamin Lev

Background

Academic Positions

Stanford Fortitude Professor, Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Stanford University, June 2026–present
Professor, Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Stanford University, September 2022–June 2026
Stanford CISAC faculty affiliate
Deputy Director of Q-FARM
Deputy Director of Ginzton Laboratory
Associate Professor, Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Stanford University, 2015–2022
Assistant Professor, Departments of Applied Physics and Physics (by courtesy), Stanford University, 2011–2015
Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008–2011
NRC Postdoc, Group of Jun Ye, JILA & NIST, 2006–2007

Education

Ph.D., Caltech, Physics, 2005
A.B., Princeton, Physics, magna cum laude, 1999

Honors & Awards

2026 Endowed professorship, title: Stanford Fortitude Professor
2021 Fellow of the American Physical Society
2021 Editorial Board of Physical Review X
2020 Member of the Defense Science Study Group (IDA & DARPA)
2015 Chambers Fellowship
2014 Terman Fellowship
2012 DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA)
2012 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (YIP)
2011 Terman Fellowship
2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
2010 Packard Fellowship
2008 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
2008 Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award (YIP)
2004 Everhart Distinguished Graduate Student Lectureship
1999 Allen Goodrich Shenstone Prize for Outstanding Work in Experimental Physics, Department of Physics, Princeton University

CV

Research interests

Lev's research focuses on exploring the organizing principles of quantum matter through the development of techniques at the interface of ultracold atomic physics, quantum optics, and condensed matter physics.
Major achievements include:
• Production and study of the first quantum gases of the most magnetic element, dysprosium.
• Development of the novel SQCRAMscope, a Scanning Quantum CRyogenic Atom Microscope for imaging transport in strongly correlated and topological materials.
• Initial development of the theory of multimode cavity quantum electrodynamical systems as well as the successful construction of an apparatus to explore predicted phenomena, including the physics associated with quantum liquid crystals and spin glasses as well as that associated with computation via dissipative neuromorphic quantum phase transitions.

Biography

Benjamin Lev is the Stanford Fortitude Professor at Stanford University. He received his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Princeton in 1999 and his Ph.D. from Caltech in 2005, both in physics. Benjamin was a National Research Council (NRC) postdoc at JILA and an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined the Stanford faculty in 2011 and holds appointments in the Departments of Physics and Applied Physics. Benjamin has received a Packard Foundation Fellowship and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from President Obama. In addition, he received the NSF CAREER award and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, DARPA, and Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program awards. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and was a member of the Defense Science Study Group, managed by IDA and DARPA. His research has been funded by the NSF, DOE, ARO, AFOSR, ONR, DARPA, NTT, and the Moore Foundation. Benjamin currently serves as deputy director of Stanford’s Ginzton Laboratory as well as deputy director of Q-FARM, the Stanford/SLAC quantum initiative.

Benjamin Lev

Background

CV

Research interests

Biography

Publications