Summary: UChicago anchors the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE) — the US's most concentrated quantum ecosystem, partnering Argonne, Fermilab, JPL, and multiple Chicago-area universities. The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) hosts world-class quantum sensing groups: Bhave (levitated optomechanics, quantum-limited force sensing); Bhave/Schuster (superconducting qubit sensing); Bhave/Bhave connections across mechanical and electromagnetic sensing. The Department of Physics hosts Gregor Engel's group on quantum coherence in biology. The James Franck Institute bridges physics and chemistry for quantum optical sensing. Argonne's Advanced Photon Source and Fermilab's quantum sensing programs are accessible to UChicago postdocs via joint appointments.
Notes: Top private R1; strong quantum ecosystem via Chicago Quantum Exchange. PME, Physics, Chemistry, and A&A all active. Partner institutions include Argonne and Fermilab.
Theorist developing frameworks for quantum sensing, control, and amplification in driven-dissipative quantum systems. Directions: (1) quantum noise theory for optomechanical and electromechanical sensors — fundamental limits and backaction evasion; (2) parametric amplification and squeezing beyond standard quantum limit; (3) non-reciprocal quantum systems for quantum-limited amplifiers; (4) quantum sensing theory for GW detectors and CMB experiments. 2020 Simons Investigator in Theoretical Physics.
Experimental astroparticle physicist developing novel quantum-limited detectors for dark matter and neutrino sensing. Directions: (1) COHERENT experiment — first measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) and ongoing precision measurements; (2) bubble chamber and scintillating bolometer detectors for WIMP dark matter; (3) development of low-threshold detectors sensitive to sub-GeV dark matter; (4) nuclear recoil sensing at the few-eV threshold. Enrico Fermi Institute member.
Experimental AMO physicist focused on precision measurement for fundamental physics. Primary directions: (1) ACME experiment measuring electron electric dipole moment to unprecedented precision using ThO molecular beam — tests for new CP-violating physics beyond the Standard Model; (2) ultracold polar molecule quantum simulation and quantum information in optical tweezers. Atomic coherence techniques underpin SERF/OPM magnetometry. Joined UChicago from Yale 2022.
Research focuses on quantum dynamics and excited-state reactivity in biological and synthetic light-harvesting systems. Discovered long-lived quantum coherence in photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes (FMO, 2007). Develops 2D electronic spectroscopy techniques to probe excitonic transport, open quantum systems, and photochemical reaction dynamics on femtosecond timescales. Director NSF QuBBE; co-director Berggren Center for Quantum Biology and Medicine.
Primary focus: immune engineering for vaccines and cancer immunotherapy. Quantum sensing relevance: co-authored 2025 fluorescent-protein spin qubit paper (Physics World Top-10) with Maurer and Awschalom, contributing protein engineering expertise to develop biological alternatives to NV centers. Collaborates on quantum biosensors for real-time monitoring of immune cell activity (Chan Zuckerberg Biohub). Primarily a collaboration gateway for NV biosensing rather than standalone quantum sensing PI.
Develops computational methods (DFT + many-body perturbation theory, quantum embedding) to predict properties of spin defects for quantum sensing and computing. Directions: (1) first-principles prediction of coherence properties, zero-phonon lines, and spin-photon coupling for NV, SiC divacancy, Er, and other color center platforms; (2) high-throughput screening of novel spin defect candidates in 2D materials and oxides; (3) quantum embedding methods for strongly correlated defects. Director MICCoM; NAS member; Argonne senior scientist.
Experimental astroparticle physicist searching for dark matter with noble liquid detectors. Directions: (1) DarkSide-20k — liquid argon TPC at INFN Gran Sasso targeting WIMP dark matter with 20-tonne active volume; (2) development of cryogenic SiPM photon detection for LAr detectors; (3) low-background detector techniques and radon mitigation; (4) argon purification and light yield optimization. Argonne joint appointment.
Develops colloidal semiconductor nanocrystal platforms for infrared detection and sensing. Directions: (1) HgTe and HgSe colloidal quantum dot mid-IR photodetectors operating at room temperature — record sensitivity for solution-processed IR sensors; (2) electro-optic modulation using nanocrystal films at ultrafast timescales; (3) fundamental optical and transport properties of doped nanocrystals. Primary application: low-cost infrared imaging and chemical sensing.
Explores boundary between condensed-matter physics and quantum sensing using superconductor-semiconductor circuits. Directions: (1) gate-tunable superconductor-semiconductor parametric amplifier for quantum-limited readout (PRA 2023); (2) room-temperature capacitive strong coupling to mechanical motion for electromechanical sensing (Nano Letters 2025); (3) quantum criticality in Josephson junction arrays; (4) synthetic Hamiltonians in hybrid SC-semi devices probing hidden material behavior. IST Austria → Microsoft → JILA → UChicago Nov 2023.
Studies optical quantum science in solid-state systems with emphasis on photonic integration. Directions: (1) photonic integration of NV-center spin qubits in diamond nanophotonic circuits for scalable quantum sensing arrays; (2) 2D semiconductor (TMD) nanophotonic devices exploiting valley and spin-valley degrees of freedom; (3) engineering light-matter interactions for quantum information and sensing in nanoscale optical cavities. Key goal: scalable on-chip quantum sensing platforms.