Economics and Sociology major Rhamsez Batchelor ’27 earned one of the top honors at this year’s QuantumUP Challenge, competing solo against college teams from across Connecticut in a high-level, real-world problem-solving competition.
Now in its second year, the event featured seven challenge questions sponsored by industry leaders including Travelers, The Hartford, and Quantinuum, whose representatives also served as judges.
Rhamsez, who also is working on a minor in complexity, found out about the competition when Assistant Professor of Mathematics Anastasiia Minenkova asked Associate Professor of Economics Jane Horvath if she knew of any students who might be interested in participating.
Rhamsez says he originally didn’t enter the competition alone. He explains his teammates withdrew from the team due to course conflicts, workload, and timeliness of the problem. He and Minenkova spent five days trying to form another UHart team before ultimately deciding to withdraw their application. “After reaching out to the coordinators that our team had to withdraw, they said they could make accommodations and allow me to compete alone,” says Rhamsez, who would then complete against two teams from either UConn, Southern Connecticut State University, Yale University, University of Bridgeport, Central Connecticut State University, or Fairfield University.
Assigned to challenge question, “Building our Future: Strengthening Quantinuum’s Supply Chain,” the project focused on identifying and analyzing global suppliers of Acoustic Optic Modulators (AOMs). The work required evaluating supplier capabilities, risk, logistics, and cost—while addressing the added challenge that no current suppliers fully meet the growing industry demand.
Rhamsez completed extensive research and developed a full report and presentation in just seven days. Competing against two teams of three students each, he delivered a standout presentation—ultimately winning best solution for the challenge question which also came with a $5,000 prize. “Thanks to Dr. Horvath and Dr. Minenkova for making the opportunity available to me,” he says.
The achievement highlights not only technical skill and research ability, but also determination and resilience in the face of significant challenges.