Atatüre leads the ~30-person QOMS group at the Cavendish. Three main thrusts: (1) Spin-based quantum networks — demonstrating distant entanglement generation and photonic cluster states using semiconductor quantum dots (InGaAs, GaAs) and diamond spin defects (NV, SiV, SnV), including a many-body nuclear-spin quantum register demonstrated in 2025 (Nature Physics); (2) Quantum-enhanced nanoscale sensing — scanning NV diamond magnetometry of emergent magnetism in novel 2D/layered materials and quantum transport in nanocircuits, plus nanodiamond-based in-cell sensing (nanoMRI, thermometry, diffusion in C. elegans); (3) Novel quantum materials — hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) optically-active spin defects at room temperature, and moiré physics in TMD heterostructures. He is co-founder and CSO of Nu Quantum Ltd.
Pioneer in spintronics and quantum information engineering. Research spans: (1) NV-center spin qubits in diamond for quantum sensing and communication including nanomagnetic imaging; (2) spin defects in SiC and Er-doped hosts for quantum network nodes at telecom wavelengths; (3) molecular and protein-based spin qubits (2025 fluorescent-protein spin qubit, Physics World Top-10); (4) coherent Er spin defects in colloidal nanocrystal hosts (2024, with Alivisatos). Founding Director Chicago Quantum Exchange. Joint Senior Scientist Argonne. Large infrastructure-rich group with strong industry ties (IBM, Intel, Google quantum).
Bain develops advanced laser spectroscopy and super-resolution microscopy techniques for biological applications. Research directions: (1) Femtosecond time-resolved STED (stimulated emission depletion) — combining sub-diffraction spatial resolution with picosecond time resolution to study FRET dynamics in live cells with both spatial and lifetime precision; (2) Time-resolved polarized fluorescence — probing orientation distributions and rotational dynamics of fluorophores; (3) CW STED fluorescence lifetime reconstruction — lower-photodose STED for longer live-cell imaging; (4) Single-molecule FRET to study protein-protein interactions; (5) Single-particle tracking of membrane receptors relevant to viral entry and cancer signaling. Former PhD students include Siân Culley (now King's College, SMLM).
Buchmueller is the lead PI of the AION consortium (~£10M funded by UKRI/STFC), leading Imperial's ultracold strontium lab developing single-photon large-momentum-transfer atom interferometry on the Sr clock transition. Key achievements: prototype Sr differential atom interferometer operating at the Standard Quantum Limit with laser noise rejection demonstrated (arXiv 2504.09158, Apr 2025); AION-10 technical design report published (Aug 2025). Buchmueller also leads the AEDGE space mission concept for the European Space Agency, seeking to deploy a km-scale Sr atom interferometer in space for dark matter and mid-frequency gravitational wave detection. Deeply involved in MAGIS-100 partnership (Fermilab) and Cold Atoms in Space community building with 130+ proponents. Active in CMS Collaboration at CERN.
PREFERRED. Cappellaro pioneered quantum magnetic sensing with electronic spin defects (NV centers) in diamond, and her group designs and controls solid-state spin qubit systems for quantum sensing, simulation, and quantum information processing, combining theoretical insight into spin dynamics with experimental control of dynamical decoupling and nuclear-spin registers for nanoscale NMR. This builds on the broader lineage of NV ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, NMR, T1 relaxometry) that has pushed AC/DC magnetic sensitivities toward the pT/sqrt(Hz) regime, which her group's Hamiltonian-engineering and nuclear-spin-register approaches aim to extend further.
Daniel Comparat (DR CNRS, LAC MFC coordinator) works on cold atoms, molecules and Rydberg physics. Research: (1) Rydberg atoms — spectroscopy, few-body interactions, frozen Rydberg gases with Cs/Yb; (2) cold molecules — BaF laser cooling and trapping for eEDM measurement; (3) antihydrogen laser manipulation for fundamental tests; (4) novel electron electric dipole moment measurement technique; (5) cold ion and electron sources (photo-ionization of laser-cooled atoms). ERC-linked funding.
Degen leads the Spin Physics and Imaging group, one of the world's leading NV-center magnetometry labs. Research directions (as of 2025): (1) Scanning NV magnetometry of quantum materials — NV-tipped cantilevers image current flow (≲50 nm resolution) in graphene heterostructures and resolve domain walls in antiferromagnets/ferroelectrics; cryogenic scanning down to 350 mK in dilution refrigerator (published Appl. Phys. Lett. 2022). (2) Single-molecule NMR — shallow NV centers detect nuclear spins from surface-adsorbed molecules with sub-nanometer 3D resolution; 2022 Nano Lett. on amine-functionalized diamond surfaces; exploring chirality-induced spin selectivity at few-molecule level. (3) NV magnetometry protocols — reconstruction-free waveform sensing (1.1 ns time resolution, Nature 2025), gradiometric detection, spectrum demodulation for rapid scanning, multi-NV addressing. (4) Diamond nanoengineering — multicone pillar waveguides, surface engineering, scanning probe fabrication. ERC Proof-of-Concept 2025 for photonic IC single-photon NV excitation/detection for commercial quantum sensing.
French is Professor and former Head of the Photonics Group (2001–2013). His group at Imperial (with Dunsby and Neil) develops multidimensional fluorescence imaging technology for life sciences and clinical applications. Research portfolio: (1) FLIM — wide-field time-gated FLIM using gated optical intensifiers and TCSPC for single-cell FRET-based biosensing of protein-protein interactions, cell signalling (kinase activity), and drug-target engagement in multi-well plates; (2) Super-resolved microscopy — STED, easySTORM (lower-cost STORM), and SIM+FLIM for mapping molecular function to biological nanostructure below the diffraction limit; (3) FLIM endoscopy — flexible wide-field FLIM endoscopes for label-free cancer diagnostics (autofluorescence lifetime) and osteoarthritis cartilage; (4) Open-source imaging — automated multiwell plate FLIM reader for high-content drug screening. Satellite lab at Francis Crick Institute.
Galland leads LQNO at EPFL investigating light-matter interactions in nano-structures and the quantum regime. Research directions: (1) NV centers in diamond for quantum sensing — spectroscopy of NV spin states in ultra-thin diamond membranes, development of diamond nanophotonic platforms for enhanced sensing sensitivity; collaboration on quantum sensing with color centers; (2) Plasmonic nanocavities — few-nm gap junctions enhance Raman scattering by ×10^9, enabling single-molecule vibrational spectroscopy and coherent control; ultrafast and single-photon detection of coherent phonon dynamics; (3) 2D heterostructure photonics — entangled photon pair generation enhanced by TMD heterostructures; valley-polarized exciton sources; (4) Optical frequency conversion for quantum applications. SNSF-funded professor, internationally recognized for molecular optomechanics and carbon nanotube quantum optics.
Gruetter leads the Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging (LFMI) at EPFL and co-directs the CIBM (Centre for Biomedical Imaging). Research directions: (1) Ultra-high-field in vivo MR spectroscopy — developing 1H, 13C, 31P, 23Na MRS at 14.1T animal and 7T human systems to measure metabolite concentrations (glutamate, GABA, lactate) in brain with unprecedented sensitivity; (2) Quantum coherence effects in NMR — exploiting J-coupling evolution and JPRESS sequences for quantum-selective metabolite editing; (3) Hyperpolarization — DNP-enhanced metabolite sensing in vivo for tracking metabolic flux in real time; (4) Neuroimaging — quantitative BOLD fMRI calibration and cerebral blood flow mapping. The 14.1T magnet is among the world's most powerful for biological NMR spectroscopy.