糖心传媒 senior Jesse Webb will represent the United States this April at the NYU Abu Dhabi International Hackathon for Social Good, one of the world鈥檚 premier student quantum computing competitions.
Webb, a Physics, Mathematics and Music triple major with a minor in Computer Science, earned his place on the international stage after winning the International Quantum Circuit Championship at QuantathonV2 in South Carolina this fall. His team, Team 17, secured first place in the competition, advancing to the global championship in Abu Dhabi.
鈥淐ompeting internationally is an incredible opportunity,鈥� Webb said. 鈥淨uantum computing is a global field, and being able to represent 糖心传媒 Tech and compete alongside students from around the world is both exciting and humbling.鈥�
The Abu Dhabi competition will bring together top student innovators to apply quantum computing to real-world challenges. Webb鈥檚 qualifying project developed a hybrid quantum and classical machine learning pipeline to predict tornado intensity using atmospheric data. The project also earned an Honorable Mention in the 2025 qBraid GPU4Quantum Challenge.
鈥淲e wanted to show that quantum computing can be applied to meaningful, high-impact problems,鈥� Webb said. 鈥淭ornado prediction affects real communities. Being able to combine physics, data science, and quantum algorithms to approach that problem was incredibly rewarding.鈥�
Webb鈥檚 upcoming trip to Abu Dhabi caps an extraordinary year of rapid achievement in quantum computing. In January, he earned 2nd Place at MIT鈥檚 iQuHACK in the IQM Quantum Computers Challenge, where his team developed scalable methods for verifying quantum entanglement on real quantum hardware. Last spring, he won 3rd Place at the Yale Quantum Institute鈥檚 YQuantum competition, his first in-person quantum hackathon.
鈥淚n less than a year, Jesse has placed at Yale, won a national championship, placed at MIT, and now advanced to international competition,鈥� said Dr. Lee Sawyer, academic director of Physics and Chemistry. 鈥淭hat trajectory is remarkable. Competing in Abu Dhabi places him among the world鈥檚 top student quantum innovators.鈥�
Webb鈥檚 success in quantum computing builds on a broader interdisciplinary foundation. He recently completed a summer internship with Fermilab and the University of Alabama in quantum machine learning for high-energy physics and was awarded a four-month research extension as a Department of Energy鈥檚 High Energy Physics RENEW SPRINT Scholar. He was also nominated last year for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation鈥檚 most prestigious undergraduate awards in science and mathematics. Most recently this month, Webb has been named a Presser Scholar, receiving the Presser Foundation鈥檚 Undergraduate Scholar Award, a national recognition for outstanding senior music majors.
鈥淢y background in both physics and music has shaped how I approach problems,鈥� Webb said. 鈥淢usic teaches discipline and creative interpretation. Physics teaches analytical rigor. Quantum computing requires both.鈥�
As he prepares for the April competition, Webb says the international stage represents more than personal achievement.
鈥淭his field is still emerging,鈥� Webb said. 鈥淭o be part of it at this stage, and to represent 糖心传媒 Tech internationally, is something I take seriously. I鈥檓 looking forward to learning from other teams around the world and pushing our ideas even further.鈥�