Quantum Materials and Devices

Summary

Our research operates at the intersection of fundamental quantum physics and the development of next-generation technologies. We investigate the rich and often counterintuitive behavior of systems at the nanoscale and under cryogenic conditions—where quantum mechanics doesn’t just play a role, it dominates. In this regime, small is not merely a reduction in scale—it’s a gateway to exploring entirely new physics.

Through precision charge, spin, and thermal transport measurements—across a range of frequencies and temperatures—we explore regimes that remain largely uncharted. These experiments serve as powerful probes into the quantum landscape. Our work spans from quantifying the role of electron-phonon coupling in limiting spin lifetimes and coherence times in spin qubits, to uncovering the mechanisms behind chirality-induced spin selectivity. By building this fundamental understanding, we aim to not only push the boundaries of quantum science but also lay the groundwork for transformative quantum technologies.

We’re always excited to welcome motivated undergraduate and graduate students who are passionate about quantum science and nano-scale physics. If you’re interested in joining our group, the ideal time to reach out is February or October for undergraduate opportunities, and September through December for graduate positions.

Group News

• Our perspective article on silicon allotropes was published in Applied Physics Letters March (2025)
• Sam Saiter and Connor Denney received the best poster award at the Front Range Advanced Magnetics Symposium (2024). Congratulations!
• Our paper on measuring entanglement speed limits with superconducting qubits was accepted in PRR (December 2023)
• Meenakshi Singh received a Fulbright Professional and Academic Excellence Award (April 2022)
• Kirsten Blagg graduated in December 2021 with a Ph.D. Congratulations Dr. Blagg! We will miss having you around.
• Our perspective article on developing a quantum workforce, stemming out of a Kavli Institute Workshop on the subject, was published in Quantum Science and Technology (June 2021)
• Honored to receive NSF’s CAREER award (Feb 2021).
• Our paper appeared in PRX Quantum! Quantum Simulators: Architectures and Opportunities was part of three Quantum roadmap papers, a new article type for APS, of which our three are the first examples.
• Our work on developing an on-chip, mask-free thermometer sensitive down to 8 milliKelvin was published in Carbon (Focused ion beam deposited carbon-platinum nanowires for cryogenic resistive thermometry).
• Our user proposal related to gate-defined quantum dots was accepted at CINT, Sandia National Lab (June 2020).
• Congratulations to Joel Howard for winning the NSF QISE-NET Triplets Fellowship (February 2020). Our Triplets partner is Raymond Simmons, NIST Boulder.

Grants

• DoE: Probing the origins of Chirality Induced Spin Selectivity via transport measurements (2023-2026)
• NSF: Collaborative Research: NRT-QL: A Program for Training a Quantum Workforce (2021-2026) 
  
• NSF: CAREER: Electron-phonon processes in gate-defined silicon quantum dots: measurement, control, and applications (2021-2026)
• NSF: Defect States of Silicon Allotropes for Quantum Information Science (2021-2024)
• NSF: MRI: Acquisition of an Automated, Variable Temperature and Magnetic Field Multi-property Measurement System (2019-2022)
• NSF: Thermoelectric Effects in Superconductor Ferromagnet Hybrids (2018-2022)
• NSF: RAISE-TAQS: Entanglement and information in complex networks of qubits (2018-2022)