Rate My Professor Robin Cote

Robin Cote is a Distinguished Professor in the Physics Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he previously served as Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and currently directs the Data & Quantum Science Center. Prior to joining UMass Boston around 2020, he held a professorship in the Physics Department at the University of Connecticut from 1999, where he is now listed as Professor Emeritus, following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics from 1996 to 1999. Cote earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995, an M.Sc. in Physics from Université Laval in 1989, and a B.Sc. in Physics from Université du Québec in 1987. His career has focused on theoretical research in physics, with appointments advancing his leadership in science education and quantum initiatives.

Cote's research centers on theoretical atomic, molecular, and optical physics, encompassing ultracold atomic and molecular gases, quantum information science, interactions between atoms, molecules, and ions, entanglement in mesoscopic systems, many-body dynamics, and interactions with electromagnetic fields such as laser light. He has authored 151 publications, including highly influential works such as 'Fast quantum gates for neutral atoms' (2000, with D. Jaksch et al.), 'Dipole blockade and quantum information processing in mesoscopic atomic ensembles' (2001, with M.D. Lukin et al.), and 'Local blockade of Rydberg excitation in an ultracold gas' (2004, with D. Tong et al.). Recent contributions include 'Charge transfer via temporary bonds in C60 + C60+ molecular collisions' (2024, Physical Review A), 'Quantum exchange symmetry induces charge diffusion and trapping in ultracold gases' (2024, Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics), 'Inner energy relaxation and growth of nanosize particles' (2023, Physical Review A), and 'Homonuclear ion-atom collisions: Application to Li+-Li' (2022, Physical Review A). Cote leads NSF-funded efforts like the EQUIP-UMB program to expand quantum information science education and research at UMass Boston.