PIs

Department(s)/lab(s): Electrical and Computer Engineering (Physics affiliate) | Kats Research Group @ UWMadison
Summary:

Studies light-matter interaction at the nanoscale (metasurfaces, thermal emission, plasmonics) and, with Jennifer Choy, has developed metasurface polarizing beamsplitters that enable compact, chip-integrated atomic magnetometers (optically pumped magnetometry) alongside broader work in quantum and topological photonics.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Kaufman Group (JILA) @ CUBoulder
Summary:

Kaufman's group builds programmable optical-tweezer arrays of alkaline-earth atoms (Sr/Yb) that unite atomic-clock precision with entanglement and many-body control, demonstrating tweezer-array optical clocks and entanglement-enhanced metrology. For context, this complements the established paradigm of NV-diamond ensemble magnetometry (Hahn-echo/DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/√Hz sensitivity.

Tags:
Department(s)/lab(s): Chemistry | Kelley Research Group @ Northwestern
Summary:

Kelley designs nanostructured electrochemical biosensors -- including antifouling 'spiky' nanoelectrodes -- for amplification-free, point-of-care detection of nucleic acids and proteins (e.g. bacterial mRNA), aiming to replace slow, lab-based amplification assays with rapid electronic diagnostics deployable at the bedside.

Department(s)/lab(s): Astronomy | Kemball Group @ UIUC
Summary:

Radio astronomer working on very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) and radio imaging instrumentation, including maser and stellar-envelope studies and computational methods for radio astronomy.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics (Cavendish Laboratory) | Keyser Lab @ Cambridge
Summary:

Keyser's group uses solid-state and DNA-origami nanopores for resistive-pulse single-molecule sensing, with a current focus on multiplexed RNA identification using barcoded DNA nanostructures, in close collaboration with Jeremy Baumberg's plasmonics group. The lab combines physics, nanofabrication and molecular biology to push nanopore sensing toward diagnostic applications.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Kim Lab @ UIUC
Summary:

Studies the physical rules governing bacterial gene expression using single-molecule and quantitative live-cell imaging approaches.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Quantum Optics and Laser Science Group @ Imperial
Summary:

Kim's theoretical group works on quantum optics and quantum information, including generation and application of non-classical light (cat states, GKP states) for quantum metrology, continuous-variable quantum information and fundamental tests of quantum mechanics.

Department(s)/lab(s): Chemistry | King Lab @ UChicago
Summary:

King develops polarization- and time-resolved PEEM together with ultrafast (scanning) transmission electron microscopy to image charge-carrier, exciton, and phonon dynamics with nanoscale (down to ~25 nm) spatial resolution at buried interfaces and in 2D materials such as black phosphorus. Her group is now retrofitting a high-throughput PEEM, in collaboration with the Kasthuri lab, for whole-brain connectomics -- an unpreferred/borderline inclusion since the core program is materials-science imaging rather than biosensing, but one that is directly extending resolution-pushing microscopy into neuroscience.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics – Institute of Physics (IPHYS) | Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements (K-Lab) @ EPFL
Summary:

Kippenberg leads the Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements (K-Lab) at EPFL, pioneer of chip-scale microresonator frequency combs and cavity optomechanics. Research directions: (1) Soliton microcombs β€” dissipative Kerr solitons in Si3N4 microresonators for massively parallel coherent optical communications, precision ranging/LiDAR (Science 2018, Nature 2017); dual-chirped microcomb parallel ranging at megapixel rates; (2) Room-temperature quantum optomechanics β€” phononic-crystal-patterned Si3N4 membrane-in-the-middle cavity reduces frequency noise 700Γ—, observing quantum backaction at room temperature (Nature 2024); (3) Superconducting circuit optomechanics β€” topological lattices, electromechanical sensing (Nature 2022); (4) Free-electron–photon interactions in microresonators. Spin-off companies and strong industry ties. Over 85,000 citations, h-index ~80.

Department(s)/lab(s): Institute of Physics (KOMET) | AG Klaeui - Nanomagnetism and Spintronics @ JGU
Summary:

Klaeui runs one of Europe's larger nanomagnetism/spintronics groups, working on magnetic skyrmions, antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic spin textures, domain-wall dynamics, spin caloritronics and magnon transport, with an eye to low-power memory and unconventional (neuromorphic/stochastic) computing. The connection to this search is the metrology: reading out antiferromagnetic and skyrmionic textures requires stray-field imaging at nanometre scale, and the group uses NV scanning-probe and widefield NV magnetometry alongside synchrotron X-PEEM/XMCD and Kerr microscopy. Relative to the established NV-ensemble quantum-sensing playbook (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry at pT/sqrt(Hz) ensemble sensitivity), this is a strong 'sensor-as-tool' host -- the NV magnetometer is the instrument, and the physics questions are in the material. Preferred-attribute note: cutting-edge spatial resolution rather than device fabrication is the emphasis on the imaging side, though the group does substantial thin-film growth and lithography.