Ajoy's group uses NV and P1 centers in diamond to hyperpolarize nuclear spins via optically pumped dynamic nuclear polarization, dramatically boosting NMR/MRI signal for chemical sensing and nanoscale spectroscopy. This builds directly on the broader lineage of NV-ensemble quantum sensing experiments (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) that have reached pT/sqrt(Hz)-class sensitivities, extending it toward practical hyperpolarized-sensing applications; the lab is actively recruiting postdocs.

The Han Lab (Chemistry, joined fall 2023) develops quantum sensing tools rooted in electron and nuclear spin physics for life-science applications. Directions: (1) DNP-enhanced NMR quantum sensing using coupled electron-nuclear spin clusters — designing novel biradical and multi-spin systems achieving 700-fold ¹³C signal enhancement at 14.1 T via P1 center clusters in HPHT diamond (exchange coupling >100 MHz); aiming for in-cell NMR with sensitivity to track water dynamics in a single cell; (2) High-field pulsed EPR at 240 GHz / 8.6 T: time-resolved Gd-Gd EPR (TiGGER) for tracking inter-residue distances during protein functional cycles in solution with sub-nm resolution; rapid-scan field-domain EPR development; (3) Integration of DNP/EPR with nanodiamond-based quantum sensors: coupled electron-nuclear spin cluster design for long-range quantum sensing in biological environments, bridging conventional NMR/EPR and NV-center-based quantum sensing. Han directs the EPR/DNP component of IMSERC (Northwestern's core facility) and brought three new EPR spectrometers and a 600 MHz DNP-NMR system.