Smith leads the Photonic Nanomaterials Group, studying nanostructured materials (semiconductor nanocrystals, diamond colour centres) coupled to open-access tunable optical microcavities, with applications spanning efficient spin-photon interfaces for NV-diamond quantum networks and single-photon sources.

Toeno van der Sar's group uses NV-centre diamond magnetometry to study correlated spin dynamics and electric currents in magnetic and 2D materials. Research directions: (1) scanning NV magnetometry of topological magnets, 2D magnetic materials (CrI3, Fe3GeTe2), and superconductors; (2) spin-wave (magnon) spectroscopy in magnetic thin films using NV sensors; (3) widefield NV imaging of biological samples and materials. The group develops both NV scanning probes and widefield NV ensembles for nanoscale spatial mapping of magnetic phenomena.

Vuckovic's lab uses inverse-designed nanophotonic cavities and waveguides to couple diamond (NV/SiV) and other solid-state spin defects to light, building integrated quantum photonic devices for quantum sensing, networking, and single-photon sources.

Weil directs the Synthesis of Macromolecules department at the MPI for Polymer Research in Mainz (co-located with JGU, with which the department collaborates closely). The quantum-sensing core of her programme is nanodiamond: in 2026 her group published a bottom-up route that converts molecularly defined nanographenes into ultrasmall, size-uniform nanodiamonds under HPHT, incorporating SiV and GeV colour centres during synthesis rather than by post-hoc implantation -- addressing the long-standing problem that milled detonation nanodiamonds have poor size control and damaged surfaces. Alongside this sits a mature nanodiamond biosensing line: surface bioconjugation and nanogel encapsulation, T1 relaxometry for free-radical detection in single mitochondria and in cells, nanoscale thermometry and photothermal theranostics. Relative to the established NV-ensemble quantum-sensing playbook (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry at pT/sqrt(Hz) ensemble sensitivity), this group is attacking the material bottleneck directly -- if you want NV/SiV ensembles with controlled size, surface and coherence for in-cell sensing, this is the synthesis end of that pipeline, and it feeds spin-readout collaborators at Ulm (Jelezko/Kubanek).

Wood works on NV centres in physically rotating diamond, a niche he essentially created: by spinning the crystal at tens of kHz he has demonstrated spin-rotation coupling, geometric phases and rotationally-induced pseudo-fields on NV ensembles, and used the rotating frame as a resource for noise-averaging and for gyroscopy. The group also works on conventional bulk NV magnetometry, dynamical decoupling sequence design and nuclear-spin bath engineering. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work — DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity — his rotating-frame protocols are a direct attempt to extend the DEER/T1-relaxometry toolbox — normally applied to static ensembles at pT/sqrt(Hz) — into a regime where the sensor itself is in motion, with obvious relevance to inertial sensing and to averaging away static field gradients. Early-career PI, smaller group; a good option for a candidate wanting substantial independence.