NON-PREFERRED (astronomy pivot, kept for review). Simcoe designs and builds custom cryogenic infrared spectrographs (FIRE, and the new fiber-fed LLAMAS integral-field spectrograph) for the Magellan telescopes to study the chemistry of galaxies and quasars in the first billion years after the Big Bang; this is an instrumentation-driven astro program rather than a quantum-sensor program per se, so it is included as a borderline pivot.
Peter Smith (Professor, ORC Southampton) develops integrated photonic devices for quantum technologies and sensing. Research: (1) direct UV laser writing — waveguides and Bragg gratings in silica/glass for atom-trap integrated optics; (2) quantum photonic circuits — integrated waveguides for quantum computing and communication; (3) PPLN and nonlinear optics — electrical poling of LiNbO₃ for wavelength conversion (Covesion spinout); (4) integrated sensing — chemical/biological sensors and optofluidic microfluidic chips; (5) applications to cold atom systems — 'Integrated optical elements for miniaturised atom traps'. Spin-outs: Covesion, Stratophase.
Observational astrophysicist studying the formation and evolution of stars and their planets, combining Kepler/K2, TESS, JWST, and Gaia data to detect young exoplanets and identify signatures of planetary engulfment by host stars.
Staggs is PI of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (Advanced ACTPol) and co-Director of the Simons Observatory, leading development and production of very large, sensitive cryogenic transition-edge-sensor (TES) focal-plane detector arrays used to map cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization anisotropies at ever finer angular resolution. This is included as an astronomy pivot on the strength of its quantum-limited cryogenic detector instrumentation, which is the enabling technology for the high spectral/spatial resolution CMB science.
Studies the interstellar and intergalactic medium and galaxy evolution via radio observations of neutral hydrogen and molecular gas.
The Stern Group explores fundamental quantum interactions of photons with 2D materials, nano-scale structures, and atoms. Key thrusts: (1) Valley-selective exciton-polaritons in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (MoS₂, MoSe₂, WSe₂) embedded in optical microcavities — hybrid light-matter quasiparticles with valley-selective polarization and cavity-modified dynamics; (2) 2D semiconductor quantum emitters — quantum-dot-like single-photon emitters formed by confinement in TMD nanoribbons and by chemical functionalization/strain engineering of defects; (3) Astrophotonics: collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory and the Australian Astronomical Observatory to design and fabricate silicon ring-resonator photonic circuits for OH sky-background suppression in near-IR astronomical spectrographs; (4) Quantum non-reciprocal photonics in axisymmetric microresonators. Experimental tools: time-resolved spectroscopy, single-photon counting, nanofabrication. DOE Early Career Award; ONR Young Investigator Award; Sloan Research Fellow 2013. Affiliated with Fermilab-Northwestern CAPST.
Stubbs was the inaugural project scientist for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory/LSST and works on precision photometric calibration (e.g. tunable collimated beam projectors) for its 3200-megapixel wide-field survey camera, alongside dark-matter/dark-energy searches and tests of gravitation. Included as a borderline, not-preferred astronomy-instrumentation case: the camera/calibration technology is complex and cutting-edge but is CCD-based rather than a quantum sensor per se.
Szentgyorgyi builds high-dispersion optical spectrographs for precision radial-velocity exoplanet detection and stellar spectroscopy, having worked across neutrino, gamma-ray, and X-ray astronomy before focusing the last two decades on next-generation precision spectrograph instrumentation.
Tacchella studies the physics of galaxy and black hole formation and evolution across cosmic time, combining analytical and cosmological models with cutting-edge multi-wavelength data, and plays a leading role in JWST/NIRCam observations characterising the earliest galaxies.
Tan leads the Superconducting Quantum Detectors group, holding ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants. Two main research pillars: (1) Quantum-limited SIS mixer development — pushing THz SIS heterodyne receivers above the Nb gap (~700 GHz) using NbTiN/NbN films for next-generation ALMA wideband sensitivity upgrade (Band 9) and large-format focal-plane mixer arrays for JCMT/SMA; (2) Superconducting parametric amplifiers (TWPAs) — fabricating kinetic-inductance and Josephson-junction TWPAs achieving near-quantum-limited broadband noise performance from microwave to THz, with applications to dark matter/axion searches (ABRACADABRA/prototype cavity haloscope), quantum computing qubit readout, and CMB-grade receivers. Group is transitioning TWPA fabrication in-house using Beecroft Building cleanroom. ERC Consolidator Grant awarded 2024.