Burcu Ozden receives $800K to accelerate groundbreaking quantum materials studies, strengthening innovation in emerging quantum technologies.
Following the revelation of a sizable research award given to one of its top faculty members, Penn State Abington is poised to play a significant role in the country’s efforts to enhance quantum technology. A highly competitive three-year, $800,000 research grant has been awarded to Dr. Burcu Ozden, an assistant professor of engineering and physics at Penn State Abington. The development of cutting-edge two-dimensional materials that are essential for application in next quantum technologies is the focus of this substantial financing.
With an official start date of 2026, the project will support innovative efforts to realize the enormous promise of room-temperature quantum computing, sensing, and secure communication.
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Addressing Quantum’s Greatest Challenge
Quantum technologies present whole new opportunities for encryption, sensing, and computation as the need for secure communication grows worldwide. Quantum technology, which depends on the potent, counterintuitive laws of quantum mechanics, is frequently referred to as the second information revolution. Quantum bits, or “qubits,” use a phenomena called superposition to exist in several states at once, in contrast to conventional bits, or units of data, which can only exist as a 0 or a 1. By enabling computational feats, intricate simulations, and sophisticated encryption that are currently unattainable even for the most potent supercomputers in the world, this capacity lays the groundwork for exponentially increased processing power.
However, the requirement to create very stable qubits is a continuous and difficult obstacle to successfully harnessing this potential. These days, most quantum systems must function in cryogenic conditions, which are extremely cold, vacuum-sealed locations. Due to the requirement for such costly and intricate settings, large-scale commercial and industrial uses of quantum computing are prohibitively costly and difficult.
This constraint is directly addressed by Dr. Burcu Ozden research, which aims to create material platforms that can sustain these delicate quantum states, or coherence, for an extended amount of time outside of extremely cold environments. Ozden emphasised the need for intricately regulated material systems to provide stable qubits at ambient temperature.
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Engineering Atomic-Scale Solutions
At the atomic level, the Abington-led project’s main goal is to control the quantum characteristics of advanced material structures by designing precise faults in those structures. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), a family of two-dimensional materials renowned for their incredibly thin, layered structure, will be the focus of Dr. Ozden and her group. This structure allows their thickness and composition to be carefully controlled, allowing their qualities to be accurately regulated.
Instead than trying to eradicate every mistake, the goal of the research is to intentionally use and exploit particular atomic-scale imperfections. The team will specifically concentrate on antisite defects, which arise from atoms switching positions within a crystal lattice. Ironically, it is possible to build this structural abnormality into the functional basis of a stable qubit.
The key innovation of this method is its attempt to offer a scalable route to defect-based qubits without the need for strain or external contaminants, both of which are frequent problems in other methods of material development. In order to create a solid, dependable, and repeatable process for qubit manufacturing, the team plans to carefully engineer the inherent flaws in the TMDs. According to Dr. Burcu Ozden, this work will greatly expedite the University’s contributions to the quickly developing disciplines of defect engineering and quantum materials.
A Commitment to Education and Workforce Development
The project is in line with Penn State Abington and national STEM interests because of the significant DOE grant’s strong commitment to workforce development and education, which goes beyond the project’s deep scientific goals. The initiative incorporates a strong educational mission, incorporating graduate, undergraduate, and faculty members from the University Park campus as well as Penn State Abington.
“This project brings together experimental work, computation, and a strong educational mission,” commented Dr. Ozden, highlighting the special opportunities offered by this collaborative paradigm. Penn State is “uniquely positioned” to actively engage undergraduate researchers in federally supported quantum research, according to her. Students working on this research will acquire practical experience in data analysis, optical characterization, and materials synthesis skills essential to the future quantum workforce.
This top-tier research opportunity is a component of the “Abington Experience,” which combines leadership development, internships, academic travel, and undergraduate research. These all-encompassing experiences have been shown to develop the marketable abilities and self-assurance required to boost employment offers, pay, and long-term success. Through multidisciplinary project teams, summer research projects, and the campus’ undergraduate research program (ACURA), Abington students will engage in activities that directly link their academic interests to national research goals.
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Strengthening the Multicampus Ecosystem
The honour emphasizes how effective and beneficial Penn State‘s multi-campus research organization is. The grant will be revolutionary for the Abington campus, including financing for student researchers, increased characterization capabilities, and the purchase of new lab facilities. Additionally, it will facilitate the utilization of common instrumentation equipment and spectroscopic labs as well as partnerships between Penn State Abington researchers and students in engineering, physics, and materials science.
Chancellor Gary Liguori of Abington said the award “showcases the strength of Penn State’s multicampus research ecosystem,” pointing out that Commonwealth Campus faculty continue to lead nationally competitive, high-impact research while also offering students life-changing educational opportunities.
The funding, which will last for three years, is ultimately an investment in human capital and basic science. If TMD flaws are successfully engineered, a scalable, affordable platform may be made available, potentially launching a new era in the production of quantum devices. In addition to guaranteeing that the upcoming generation of scientists and engineers is equipped with the cutting-edge abilities necessary to maintain the quantum-enabled future, the project solidifies Penn State’s place as a major participant in the national quantum scene.
Nearly 3,000 students attend Penn State Abington, which is only a short distance from Philadelphia. The school successfully transitions its students from campus to highly sought-after careers in science and technology by fusing transformative student learning experiences with high-impact faculty research.
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