Description: DC/AC magnetic field sensing via ODMR of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.
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 β 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 β 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.
Lukin's group is a leading center for quantum science built on NV- and SiV-center diamond spin qubits, neutral-atom (Rydberg) tweezer arrays, and hybrid quantum networks, spanning quantum sensing, quantum information processing, and many-body physics. This work builds directly on the lineage of NV ensemble quantum sensing experiments (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) that first reached pT/βHz-class magnetic sensitivities, which Lukin's own group helped pioneer and continues to extend toward nuclear-spin-register-based nanoscale NMR and distributed sensor networks.
Develops quantum sensing platforms at the biology interface. Core NV-center work: (1) widefield NV magnetic imaging of action potentials in neurons and cardiac tissue; (2) NV-based single-molecule NMR at 14 T resolving molecular structure with single-molecule sensitivity; (3) charge-sensitive shallow NV nanoprobes monitoring real-time cellular electrophysiology; (4) biocompatible diamond surface functionalization enabling multiplexed DNA microarray biosensing; (5) fluorescent-protein spin qubits as biological alternatives to diamond NV (2025 paper, Physics World Top-10 Breakthrough). Runs full NV stack: hot implantation, widefield and confocal ODMR, T1/T2/Hahn echo/DEER/Rabi, automated fitting pipelines. 2026 Sloan Fellow. PhD Lukin/Harvard; postdoc Chu/Stanford. Argonne joint appointment.
Park's group works at the interface of physics, chemistry, and neuroscience, developing nanowire- and nanoelectrode-based intracellular electrophysiology probes as well as NV-diamond quantum sensing platforms (often in collaboration with Lukin), building on the same NV ensemble quantum-sensing lineage (DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry, pT/βHz sensitivity) while also pushing nanoscale bioelectronic recording.
Jakob Reichel (Professor, LKB Atom Chips) leads work on fiber Fabry-Perot microcavities for atom-light quantum interfaces and miniaturised sensors. Research: (1) fiber Fabry-Perot microcavities β sub-micron mirrors on fibre tips enabling strong single-atom coupling; integrated directly into atom chips; (2) TACC (Trapped Atom Clock on a Chip) β Rb atom clock with 5.8Γ10β»ΒΉΒ³/βΟ stability; ERC Advanced grant EQUEMI; (3) Sr optical-lattice cavity QED with quantum metrology; (4) MIREGA spinout β miniature portable greenhouse gas analyser combining FFP microcavities with telecom fibre optics for drone mounting; ERC Proof-of-Concept grant; (5) Rubidium CQED 'Sarocema' β individually addressable atom-tweezer array in fibre cavity for quantum simulation with long-range cavity-mediated interactions.
Jean-FranΓ§ois Roch (Professor at ENS Paris-Saclay, LuMIn) is a world leader in NV-center diamond quantum sensors. Research: (1) NV center magnetometry β scalar and vector magnetic field sensing with ensembles and single NV spins; (2) NV centers in diamond anvil cells for high-pressure magnetometry (world record 240 GPa); (3) joint laboratory (JRL) with Thales R&T on industrial NV quantum sensors; (4) color centres in hBN. IUF Senior Member 2021; JaffΓ© Prize + Berthelot Medal 2024.
Simpson runs the experimental quantum imaging and sensing laboratory at Melbourne and is the closest match at this institution to a bio-oriented NV sensing postdoc. Two active threads: (i) widefield NV magnetic and spin-relaxation imaging of living cells and tissue, including magnetic imaging of magnetotactic bacteria, cellular free radicals and paramagnetic ion transport, and quantum-probe imaging of neuronal activity; and (ii) engineering Australia's most sensitive diamond vector magnetometer with RMIT and Phasor Innovation, aimed at navigation, underground/undersea sensing and, explicitly, mapping magnetic signals of the human brain in unshielded environments. That second thread is a direct bid at bioelectromagnetism with a quantum sensor. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work β DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity β Simpson's work is a continuation of exactly that lineage, pushing ensemble DEER/T1-relaxometry contrast mechanisms out of the physics lab and into cell biology and human-scale magnetoencephalography. Preferred attributes present: bioelectromagnetism, human-subject ambitions, sensitivity-limited (not fabrication-limited) programme. QUBIC investigator; recruits postdocs regularly.
Tim Taminiau (QuTech team leader, Assoc Prof) develops NV-center quantum registers for sensing and quantum networks. Research: (1) NV-center nuclear spin registers β quantum control of up to 50 coupled 13C nuclear spins; (2) nanoscale NMR sensing β mapping external spin networks with sub-nm resolution; (3) silicon-carbide spin qubits β VSi centres for scalable quantum networks with fast entanglement rates; (4) quantum error correction in multi-spin diamond registers. NWO Vici Grant 2026. Quadrupolar nuclear spin spectroscopy of individual nuclei (Nano Letters 2024). Key for sensing proteins at nanoscale.
Treussart uses fluorescent nanodiamonds (NV centres) as photostable bio-probes: intracellular single-particle tracking, nanoscale thermometry/magnetometry, and multimodal biosensing in cells and organisms, alongside super-resolution imaging - a direct NV-ensemble-to-biology bridge. In the broader landscape of NV-centre ensemble quantum sensing (DEER, nano-NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity, this work is applied here to living cells via nanodiamond probes.
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.