David Joseph
I’m a postdoctoral associate at the Technical University of Munich, where I design quantum optimal-control pulses for applications such as magnetic resonance (MR). My work aims to recover sensitivity that would otherwise be lost because of hardware limitations.
More broadly, I develop quantum-control and machine-learning methods to solve problems in the life sciences, physics, and chemistry. One question I hope to address over the course of my career is: How can we map the dynamical properties of biomolecules to their functional properties?
Previously, I was at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, where I first completed my PhD (summa cum laude, 2024) and then worked as a postdoctoral researcher for one year. There, my research focused on developing a robust quantum optimal-control pulse-sequence library for 1.2 GHz spectrometers to overcome instrumental limitations. The resulting publication received the Ernst Award from the Division of Magnetic Resonance of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) and the JMR/JMRO Young Scientist Award at EUROMAR 2024.
Before that, I developed rapid NMR methods for metabolomics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. I also created Pulsar.jl, an open-source Julia toolbox for designing quantum optimal-control pulses.
Research
News
- 2026After more than 20 unsuccessful postdoc applications, several promises that went nowhere, and interference with my applications, I’m starting as a postdoctoral associate at the Technical University of Munich. The ironies aren’t lost on me; at this point, it almost feels as though the universe is playing a joke.
- 2026Two of my papers are now out in J. Magn. Reson.: one on low-power sequences for a 5 mm cryogenic probe at 1.2 GHz, and the other on Bloch–Siegert-free optimal-control pulses. See publications. I couldn’t persuade my PhD supervisor to publish them during my PhD. Publication kept being delayed for reasons I never understood, while I was forced to spend more than half my time “helping others” with work unrelated to my projects, work that would not earn me authorship. Both papers moved forward quickly during the five months I was unemployed.
- 2026Pulsar.jl released, a Julia toolbox for optimal-control pulse design. Details.
I began the project after leaving my position at MPI-NAT. For nearly a year, I experienced bullying, gaslighting, and bigotry from a senior staff member. When I raised concerns, my supervisor offered no support and made me apologize for speaking up. The experience left me burned out and dealing with inflammation all over my body. I wrote most of Pulsar.jl in airport lounges and train stations while backpacking through India, navigating personal upheaval, and realizing that I would have to find my own way forward.