Dr. Kostas Blekos is an Associate Research Scientist at CaSToRC within The Cyprus Institute and a core member of the QUEST team. He earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical & Computational Physics from the University of Patras. His research bridges applied and mathematical aspects of quantum computing, spanning quantum complexity theory, quantum information, and the design of hybrid quantum‑classical algorithms (notably the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm, QAOA), alongside machine learning for physical‑science applications. He has led initiatives that include devising new quantum algorithms, advancing quantum control and noise-mitigation methods, and exploring quantum many-body dynamics on emerging quantum processors, logging hundreds of hours of experimental runs on quantum-processing units (QPUs). His broader interests encompass multi-scale computational modeling, from first-principles simulations to AI-driven analysis of complex physical systems. 

Iosifina Angelidi is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Computation-based Science and Technology Research Center (CaSToRC) of The Cyprus Institute, specialising in quantum entanglement and the dynamics of quantum circuits. Her research focuses on the emergence and control of long-range entanglement in stochastic quantum circuits in one and two dimensions, with particular interest in how randomness, measurement, and circuit structure give rise to complex quantum correlations. She is also interested in exploring the level statistics and Poincaré recurrence of translationally-invariant Clifford and Clifford+T circuits, aiming to uncover their connections to quantum chaos, integrability, and computational complexity. She holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics (Quantum Information) from University College London (UCL), an MSc in Physics with Quantum Dynamics from Imperial College London, and a BSc in Theoretical Physics from the University of Leeds.