Irfan Siddiqi received his AB (1997) in chemistry & physics from Harvard University. He then went on to receive a PhD (2002) in applied physics from Yale University, where he stayed as a postdoctoral researcher until 2005. Irfan joined the faculty at the physics department at the University of California, Berkeley in the summer of 2006. He is also a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and a Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Irfan served as Department Chair from 2023-2026.
His research group focuses on the development of advanced superconducting circuits for quantum information processing, including computation and metrology. Irfan is also the director of the Advanced Quantum Testbed at LBNL, which develops and operates full-stack quantum computing platforms based on superconducting qubits. He is known for key contributions to quantum measurement science, including real time observations of wavefunction collapse, tests of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, quantum feedback, and the development of a range of microwave frequency, quantum noise limited amplifiers and detectors. Irfan is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society. He is the recipient of the APS George E. Valley prize and the Joseph F. Keithley Award. He is also a recipient of the Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award—the university’s highest award for commitment to pedagogy.