This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Advances in material fabrication and nanotechnology have pushed modern electronic and optical devices to regimes where quantum properties of matter become important. This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award supports a combined research and education program that will explore methods to control quantum systems as well as a property known as the quantum mechanical phase of the system in complex environments created from diamond-based materials and nanostructures. These materials have exceptional mechanical, electronic, optical and magnetic properties with the potential to significantly impact next generation technologies. The quantum mechanical phase also offers a new means to significantly augment our ability to process and store information. In this research program, we will explore such applications by manipulating magnetic properties (known as spin) of electrons and nuclei in these novel materials. Educational and outreach activities are seamlessly integrated into the research and aimed at improving the teaching of science at all levels. Graduate students associated with this CAREER project will be trained in advanced experimental techniques used in modern physics laboratories to study the quantum properties of these systems. Undergraduate physics majors at the University of Pittsburgh will participate in the research activities of the lab via the REU program. To motivate the next generation of scientists and incorporate modern principles of active learning, computer simulations and learning games explaining important physics topics and current research will be developed and made freely available to students and the general public.
This CAREER Award funds a combined research and education program that will explore methods to control quantum coherence and entanglement of quantum systems in complex environments. The research program will study the fundamental properties of quantum entanglement using electron and nuclear spins in diamond-based materials and nanostructures. These materials have exceptional mechanical, electronic, optical and magnetic properties with the potential to significantly impact next generation technologies. Quantum entanglement also offers a new degree of freedom that can significantly augment our ability to process and store information. A central question is how are quantum entanglement and dynamics affected by the complex solid-state environment. Optical and magnetic resonance spectroscopy tools will be applied along with high spatial resolution techniques to generate, control and probe entanglement and study this question. Educational and outreach activities are seamlessly integrated into the research and aimed at improving the teaching of science at all levels. Graduate students associated with this CAREER project will be trained in advanced experimental techniques used in modern physics laboratories to study the quantum properties of these systems. Undergraduate physics majors at the University of Pittsburgh will participate in the research activities of the lab via the REU program. To motivate the next generation of scientists and incorporate modern principles of active learning, computer simulations and learning games explaining important physics topics and current research will be developed and made freely available to students and the general public.
