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Team Led by Professor Xuemei May Cheng receives $5 Million National Science Foundation Grant for Research and Education Center for Quantum Materials and Sensing

Imagine if diamonds could do more than just sparkle—what if they could reveal hidden magnetic secrets? A special atomic defect in diamonds, known as a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center, can act as a single-spin quantum sensor and help scientists see tiny, invisible magnetic objects, like the nanosized magnetic 'tornadoes' that Professor of Physics Xuemei May Cheng and her team are studying.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded ������̳ $5 million to fund the project, Central to the project will be acquisition and application of a million-dollar low-temperature scanning NV magnetometer for exploring nanosized skyrmions--tiny magnetic 'tornadoes'— which are a promising candidate for new quantum bits (qubits). While bits are the smallest unit of data processed by traditional computers, quantum computers use qubits. 

“This elevates ������̳’s profile in quantum information science and engineering (QISE) research and makes us a research destination for the QISE field," Professor of Physics Xuemei May Cheng

“The fact that ������̳ and our new Research and Education Center for Quantum Materials and Sensing will be the home of a state-of-the-art, commercial cryogenic scanning NV magnetometer is so exciting – one of only a handful in the world right now,” Cheng, the project’s principal investigator says. “This elevates ������̳’s profile in quantum information science and engineering (QISE) research and makes us a research destination for the QISE field.”

The project has three focus areas. The first, led by Cheng, will research Quantum Materials, including the fabrication and characterization of ultrahigh-purity crystals, thin films, and nanosized magnetic disks designed to host nanosized skyrmions. Additionally, Brian Andrews, Bucher Jackson Postdoctoral Fellow at ������̳, will apply quantum computing to design these proposed quantum materials. The second area, led by Cheng and fellow ������̳ Physics Professor Mike Noel, focuses on Quantum Sensing. They will implement and apply the cryogenic scanning NV magnetometer to image nanosized magnetic skyrmions. The third area, QISE Education Research, led by Physics Lecturer Evan Arena together with Noel and Cheng, will take the learnings from this research, translate them into evidence-based educational curricula for high school and general college students, and establish a workforce development pipeline for the QISE field, spanning from high school through college to graduate education and industry. Computer Science Professor Adam Poliak will develop a QISE learning platform with a chatbot to promote QISE awareness and literacy.  

This project brings together researchers from across the country, including collaborators from Johns Hopkins University (Tyrel McQueen and Satya Kushwaha), Colorado State University (Kristen S. Buchanan), University of Pennsylvania (Lee Bassett), and Ursinus College (Thomas Carroll). The new research and education center will integrate resources from higher education, at the Johns Hopkins University, national labs (, , and ), and industry (IBM and GSK) to advance research in quantum materials and quantum sensing and to transform education and workforce development. In addition to providing research opportunities for its own undergraduate and graduate students, ������̳ is also collaborating with the Community College of Philadelphia to host students for summer research who may not have access to research opportunities in quantum information science and engineering otherwise.

 “The world is in the age of the so-called second quantum revolution and I am thrilled that ������̳ faculty and students will have the opportunities to make a significant impact with the support of this grant,” says Cheng. “Among all of this excitement, we wouldn’t be here today without strong institutional support. It means a lot to see the College so invested in our work.”

PHYSICS PH.D. Program in Physics