Ryan Hou

Technology Leader & Interdisciplinary Researcher

My work spans large-scale AI systems and quantum technologies, combining interdisciplinary research, engineering excellence, and technical leadership to create measurable impact.

From first principles to real-world impact.

Publications

Work across AI systems and quantum technologies.

Highlighted and awarded in top venues including Nat. Common., Phys. Rev. Lett., KDD and SIGIR.

AI Systems

Retrieval, recommendation and distribution at web scale; Applied ML & AI for science.

KDD · 2026Deep-learning causal retrieval optimization for efficient e-commerce distribution in PinterestFirst and corresponding authorOral Presentation SIGIR · 2026Pin-SCALE: Semantic Cascading and Alignment Learning for Engagement-Aware IDs in Cold-Start RecommendationsCo-first and corresponding author Optics Express · 2026Color2Struct: efficient and accurate deep-learning inverse design of structural color with controllable inferenceCorresponding author SIGIR · 2025Optimize Visual Shopping Journey with Embedding-based Retrieval in Pinterest CloseupFirst and corresponding author

Quantum Technologies

Quantum dynamics and matter; physics-informed computing and optimization.

Physical Review E · 2025Direct comparison of stochastic driven nonlinear dynamical systems for combinatorial optimizationFirst author arXiv preprint · 2025Virus Spreading in Quantum NetworksFirst and corresponding author Physical Review B · 2025Topological quantum spin-tensor Hall insulators protected by pseudo-time-reversal symmetryCorresponding author Physical Review Letters · 2021Nonlinear dynamics in a synthetic momentum state latticeCo-authorEditors' Suggestion Nature Communications · 2019Experimental realization of a non-magnetic one-way spin switchCo-authorEditors' Highlight Physical Review Letters · 2018Momentum Space Josephson EffectsFirst authorEditors' Suggestion

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News

Recent recognition, media, and research developments.

Jul 18, 2026Q2B Studio covered our causal retrieval work, focusing on how deep uplift modeling can reduce shopping-candidate triggers by up to 85% while preserving key shopping sessions and improving engagement.Media Jul 17, 2026“MESH: Scaling Up Retrieval with Heterogeneous Content Unification” was selected for a long oral presentation at ACM RecSys 2026.Recognition Jun 9, 2026“Deep-learning Causal Retrieval Optimization for Efficient e-commerce Distribution in Pinterest” was selected for an oral presentation at KDD 2026.Recognition Oct 23, 2025Quantum Zeitgeist covered our work on epidemic dynamics in quantum networks, highlighting how network sparsity shapes their apparent resilience to virus spreading.Media

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Across systems and science

A continuous thread through computer science, quantum physics, and production AI.

My approach remains consistent across domains: start from first principles, connect ideas across fields, and carry them through to real-world systems.

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Connect

For research collaborations, technical leadership, and deep-technology translation.

ryanhou94@gmail.com ↗