Clare C. Yu
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of California, Irvine
Biography
Clare C. Yu is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. She completed her A.B. in Physics with high honors in 1979 and her Ph.D. in Physics in 1984, both from Princeton University. Her doctoral research focused on a local phonon model for strong-coupling superconductors under the supervision of Philip W. Anderson. Yu joined UC Irvine in 1989 as an Assistant Professor, subsequently becoming an Associate Professor in 1993, and a full Professor in 2002. In May 2022, she was named a Chancellor’s Professor at UC Irvine.
Yu's research encompasses various topics within condensed matter physics, including electron-glass dynamics, noise in superconducting qubits, and the properties of glasses at low temperatures. She has published extensively, with over 90 peer-reviewed articles to her credit, and her work has appeared in prominent journals such as Physical Review Letters and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Yu has been recognized for her contributions to physics with several honors, including being elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was also named an Outstanding Referee by the Physical Review Journals in 2024.
At UC Irvine, Yu teaches courses in physics and mentors graduate students, fostering the next generation of physicists. She has served on numerous university committees and actively participates in professional organizations. Her service extends to panels and committees, such as the American Physical Society's Division of Condensed Matter Physics and the Aspen Center for Physics, where she has held positions including Trustee and Executive Committee member. Yu is also involved in outreach, having founded the Aspen Center for Physics outreach program aimed at supporting high school students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Return to topEducation
- A.B. in Physics, Princeton University, 1979
- Ph.D in Physics, Princeton University, 1984
Distinctions
- Elected to Phi Beta Kappa Society, 1979
- Kusaka Memorial Prize for senior thesis research, 1979
- National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1979-1982
- Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1991-1993
- Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, UCI School of Physical Sciences, 2005
- Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), 2005
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2019
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2020
- University of California, Irvine Chancellor’s Professor, 2022
- Outstanding Referee of the Physical Review Journals, 2024
Areas of Expertise
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Strong-Coupling Superconductors
- Coulomb Glass
- Quantum Dot Qubits
- Two-Level Systems
- Biological Physics
- Cancer Research
- Noise in SQUIDs
- Kondo Insulators
- Phase Transitions
Recent Publications
- D. L. Mickelsen, R. Q. Wu, C. C. Yu, “Monte Carlo Spin of Magnetic Noise – The Search for Pivoting” (opens in new tab), Physical Review B, vol. 109, pp. 144510, 2024.
- D. L. Mickelsen, H. M. Carruzzo, S. N. Coppersmith, C. C. Yu, “Effects of Temperature Fluctuations on Charge Noise in Quantum Dot Qubits” (opens in new tab), Physical Review B, vol. 108, pp. 075303, 2023.
- P. J. Zuo, Z. Wang, C. C. Yu, R. Q. Wu, “Impact of Magnetic Adsorbates on Shallow Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers: Insights from Diamond C(001) Surface Studies” (opens in new tab), The Journal of Physical Chemistry Part C: Energy, Materials, and Catalysis, C: Physical Properties of Materials and Interfaces, 2023.
- D. L. Mickelsen, H. M. Carruzzo, C. C. Yu, “Interacting Two-Level Systems as a Source of 1/f Charge Noise in Quantum Dot Qubits” (opens in new tab), Physical Review B, vol. 108, pp. 195307, 2023.
- C. C. Yu, H. M. Carruzzo, “Two-Level Systems and the Tunneling Model: A Critical View” (opens in new tab), Low-Temperature Thermal and Vibrational Properties of Disordered Solids: A Half-Century of Universal “Anomalies” in Glasses, World Scientific Press, pp. 113-139, 2022.
- C. C. Yu, J.C. Wortman, T.-F. He, S. Solomon, R.Z. Zhang, A. Rosario, R. Wang, T.Y. Tu, D. Schmolze, Y. Yuan, S.E. Yost, X. Li, H. Levine, G. Atwal, P.P. Lee, “Physics Approaches to the Spatial Distribution of Immune Cells in Tumors” (opens in new tab), Reports on Progress in Physics, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 022601, 2021.
- J.C. Wortman, T.-F. He, S. Solomon, R.Z. Zhang, A. Rosario, R. Wang, T.Y. Tu, D. Schmolze, Y. Yuan, S.E. Yost, X. Li, H. Levine, G. Atwal, P.P. Lee, C.C. Yu, “Spatial distribution of B cells and lymphocyte clusters as a predictor of triple-negative breast cancer outcome” (opens in new tab), NPJ Breast Cancer, vol. 7, pp. 1-13, 2021.
- H. M. Carruzzo, A. Bilmes, J. Lisenfeld, Z. Yu, B. Wang, Z. Wan, J. R. Schmidt, C. C. Yu, “Distribution of two-level system couplings to strain and electric fields in glasses at low temperatures” (opens in new tab), Physical Review B, vol. 104, pp. 134203, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- J. M. Martinis, K. B. Cooper, R. McDermott, M. Steffen, M. Ansmann, K. Osborn, K. Cicak, S. Oh, D. P. Pappas, R. W. Simmonds, C. C. Yu, “Decoherence in Josephson Qubits from Dielectric Loss” (opens in new tab), Physical Review Letters, vol. 95, pp. 210503-1 - 210503-4, 2005.
- C. C. Yu, P. Anderson, “A Local Phonon Model of Strong Electron-Phonon Interactions in A-15 Compounds and Other Strong-Coupling Superconductors” (opens in new tab), Physical Review B, vol. 29, pp. 6165-6186, 1984.
- C. C. Yu, S. R. White, “A Numerical Renormalization Group Study of the One Dimensional Kondo Insulator” (opens in new tab), Physical Review Letters, vol. 71, pp. 3866-3869, 1993.
- C. C. Yu, J. J. Freeman, “The Thermal Conductivity and Specific Heat of Glasses” (opens in new tab), Phonon Scattering in Condensed Matter, Springer, Berlin, pp. 20-22, 1986.
- C. C. Yu, “Time Dependent Development of the Coulomb Gap” (opens in new tab), Physical Review Letters, vol. 82, pp. 4074-4077, 1999.
- C. C. Yu, “An Interacting Defect Model of Glasses: Why Do Phonons Go So Far?” (opens in new tab), Physical Review Letters, vol. 63, pp. 1160-1163, 1989.
- R. P. Erickson, Z. Jia, S. P. Gross, C. C. Yu, “How Molecular Motors Are Arranged on a Cargo Is Important for Vesicular Transport” (opens in new tab), PLoS Computational Biology, vol. 7(5), pp. e1002032, 2011.
- E. R. Grannan, C. C. Yu, “Critical Behavior of the Coulomb Glass” (opens in new tab), Physical Review Letters, vol. 71, pp. 3335-3338, 1993.
- H. M. Carruzzo, E. R. Grannan, C. C. Yu, “Non-Equilibrium Dielectric Behavior in Glasses at Low Temperatures: Evidence for Interacting Defects” (opens in new tab), Physical Review B, vol. 50, pp. 6685-6695, 1994.
- M. P. Singh, , “Monte Carlo modeling of single- molecule cytoplasmic dynein” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, pp. 12059-12064, 2005.
Contact Information
Email: cyu@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-2174
Address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-4575
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Last updated on 2/14/2025.