ECE Graduate Student in First Class of Herbold Fellows

Bob Herbold, former chief operating officer of Microsoft Corp., and Patricia Herbold, who served as a U.S. ambassador to Singapore, started the Herbold Foundation in 2002 to provide college scholarships to students across the United States studying STEM subjects. This year, they are sponsoring the inaugural class of University of Arizona Herbold Fellows. The five graduate student fellows will each receive $10,000 for their work applying computer science and data sciences to a wide range of subjects.

Among the five students is Michael Bullock, who earned his UA bachelor’s degree in spring 2020 and began his PhD in the same subject this fall.

He is researching covert communications over quantum channels. The ability for two parties to communicate without a potentially dangerous third party knowing about it is useful in many applications. Bullock said he believes these communications are especially helpful in organizations of social unrest against tyrannical governments.

“This award will enable the freedom to work independently on research,” he said. “With this independence, I plan to pursue research in the intersection of quantum communications and sensing with a focus on covertness and/or entanglement assistance.”