Quantum devices: breaking boundaries

Romana Schirhagl is a Professor at the University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), where she leads a research group focused on quantum sensing for biomedical applications...

Romana Schirhagl is a Professor at the University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), where she leads a research group focused on quantum sensing for biomedical applications. She obtained her PhD from Vienna University and later co-founded the spin-off company QTsense to commercialize quantum sensing equipment. At the symposium, she will speak about magnetometry for biological systems.

Ishitro Bhaduri is a PhD student at the CogniGron Institute in the University of Groningen...

Ishitro Bhaduri is a PhD student at the CogniGron Institute in the University of Groningen. He is part of the Spintronics of Functional Materials research group, focusing on developing unconventional computing paradigms based on complex oxides. In the symposium, he will present a talk titled "From spintronics to neuromorphic computing".

Loredana Protesescu is an Associate Professor at the University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, where her research focuses on quantum dots and advanced functional nanomaterials...

Loredana Protesescu is an Associate Professor at the University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials. She obtained her doctoral degree at ETH Zurich and later continued as a postdoctoral scholar, then a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At the symposium, she will present her work on advanced functional nanomaterials, with a focus on quantum dots.

Douwe van Netten is a PhD student working in the Antonija Grubisic-Cabo Group at the University of Groningen. His talk will discuss how chemical modification can tune the properties of layered materials, focusing on Bi-substituted PtTe₂ and how this affects its surface chemistry and stability...

Douwe van Netten is a PhD student working in the Antonija Grubisic-Cabo group at the University of Groningen. His talk will focus on how chemical modification can tailor material properties for device applications, using Bi-substituted PtTe₂ as an example. PtTe₂ is a type-II Dirac semimetal with promising catalytic and transport properties, but changing its electronic structure can also affect its surface chemistry. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the work shows that Bi substitution makes PtTe₂ more susceptible to oxidation and introduces new surface reaction pathways. This highlights why surface chemistry must be considered when designing functional layered materials for future devices.

Angeliki Nikolaou is a PhD student working in the Van der Wal Group at the University of Groningen. Her talk will focus on vanadium defects in silicon carbide, which can act as optically active color centers for quantum communication applications...

Angeliki Nikolaou is a PhD student working in the Van der Wal Group at the University of Groningen. Her talk will focus on vanadium defects in 4H-silicon carbide, a material that can host optically active color centers. These defects can absorb and emit light in the near-infrared telecom range, making them interesting for quantum communication through existing fiber-optic networks. The talk will explain how the quantum states of vanadium defects can be controlled and read out, especially the spin states of the bound electron that carry quantum information. It will also discuss how RF electric fields can be used instead of magnetic fields to drive electron spin transitions.