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 — 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 — phononic-crystal-patterned Si3N4 membrane-in-the-middle cavity reduces frequency noise 700×, observing quantum backaction at room temperature (Nature 2024); (3) Superconducting circuit optomechanics — 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.
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.
Klein pairs van der Waals heterostructure fabrication with a cryogenic scanning-probe 'Atomic Single Electron Transistor,' built on a quantum-twisting-microscope platform, to directly image sub-moire electrostatic potential landscapes with ultrasensitive, high-spatial-resolution electrometry. This is an unpreferred/borderline quantum-sensing inclusion: the sensor is an SET-based electrometer rather than an NV-ensemble magnetometer (which reaches pT/sqrt(Hz) via DEER/NMR/T1 protocols), but it shares the goal of pushing single-defect-level sensitivity for imaging quantum materials.
Knirck builds novel microwave- and mm-wave-frequency detectors (ADMX resonant cavities, MADMAX dielectric haloscopes, and the broadband BREAD/dish-antenna concept) to search for axion dark matter, explicitly leveraging cutting-edge single-photon quantum sensing to push beyond the standard quantum limit. He describes axion searches as sitting directly at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics, photonics, and quantum sensing, and is building a new experimental group at Harvard.
Knowles leads the Coherent Quantum Lab at the Cavendish Laboratory. Her research focuses on using NV centers in diamond as quantum sensors to probe matter at the nanoscale in two main thrusts: (1) nanoscale NMR / spin imaging — scanning-probe NV magnetometry of topological and unconventional magnets, Hamiltonian engineering in dense spin ensembles using global dynamical decoupling, and error-correction-enhanced sensor readout; (2) quantum biosensing in living systems — employing diamond nanocrystals functionalized for intracellular delivery to perform simultaneous nanothermometry and nanorheometry in single HeLa cells and C. elegans, using the Q-BiC integrated biocompatible chip platform. She co-leads CANSIS. The lab has a second new instrument running since mid-2025 for biosensing experiments.
Kocharovskaya is a theorist (with supporting experiment) in coherent optics: EIT, lasing without inversion, and X-ray/gamma quantum optics using nuclear coherent control (Moessbauer nuclei) for ultra-narrowband photon storage and precision spectroscopy. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work provides coherent-control primitives relevant to precision sensing.
Kolkowitz's group builds ultra-precise strontium optical lattice clocks for differential clock comparisons and fundamental-physics tests, and separately pioneered scanning single-NV magnetometry for imaging nanoscale current and spin transport in quantum materials. This combination of atomic-clock and solid-state defect-spin sensing places the group's diamond work squarely alongside the broader NV ensemble sensing literature (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) that has achieved pT/sqrt(Hz)-class field sensitivities; the lab is actively recruiting postdocs in both directions.
Kolthammer works on quantum photonics with an emphasis on nonclassical states of light and their applications to quantum information and sensing. Research highlights: (1) Gaussian Boson Sampling — first time-bin encoded GBS experiment using a loop-based interferometer with superconducting TES photon-number-resolving detectors, demonstrated enhancement in dense-subgraph search over classical methods (PRX 2022); (2) Squeezed state characterisation — nonclassicality certification using multiplexing layouts with superconducting TES detectors, sub-Poisson and sub-binomial statistics (PRA 2017); (3) Frequency-multiplexed photon pair sources — electro-optic frequency shifting for indistinguishable single-photon multiplexing without added multi-photon events; (4) Photonic quantum sensing — developing time-bin encoded platforms for quantum-enhanced sensing and quantum advantage demonstrations.
The Kovachy Group applies quantum wave properties of ultracold atoms to precision sensing. Primary focus: (1) Advanced large-momentum-transfer (LMT) atom interferometer pulse sequences using Bragg diffraction and Bloch oscillations to achieve record momentum splits of 100s of ℏk, enhancing sensitivity for fundamental physics tests; (2) MAGIS-100 collaboration — the 100 m-tall atom interferometer at Fermilab targeting gravitational waves in the mid-band complementary to LIGO/LISA, dark matter field searches, and tests of quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales; (3) Search for deviations from Newtonian gravity at micrometer range using atom-interferometric force sensing, and a new measurement of Newton's gravitational constant G; (4) Cryogenic optical cavity dark matter search (with Gabrielse and Geraci groups). David and Lucile Packard Fellow (2020), Paul Ehrenfest Best Paper Award 2020, NIST Precision Measurement Grant 2019. Member of CFP Northwestern and CIERA.
Krueger's chemistry group develops diamond and nanodiamond surface chemistry, functionalization and bioconjugation that make NV centres viable, shallow, coherent quantum sensors for chemical and biological targets - the materials-chemistry enabler for NV ensemble sensing. She co-leads Stuttgart's quantum-technologies profile. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is enabled at the surface-chemistry level by this work.