Congratulations to Prof. Kanu Sinha on Receiving DOE Early Career Research Award

The Wyant College of Optical Sciences is thrilled to share that Prof. Kanu Sinha has been selected for the prestigious US Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Research Award. Dr. Sinha’s work explores the intersection of quantum optics and open quantum systems, focusing on collective light-matter interactions and quantum fluctuations. Her group works closely with experiments, exploring novel regimes of light-matter interactions and developing applications of quantum optical systems towards quantum sensing and metrology.

Her award-winning project, “Macroscopic Quantum Mechanics and Microscopic Thermodynamics with Optically Levitated Nanoparticles,” will investigate how laser-trapped dielectric nanoparticles can address two major challenges in quantum science: creating macroscopic quantum states and probing thermodynamics at microscopic scales. By combining photonic structures, lasers, quantum measurement, and feedback techniques, the project aims to achieve coherent control over multiple nanoparticles, engineer quantum fluctuations, and study energy and information flow in nanoscale systems.

This five year, $875,000 DOE-funded initiative will deepen our understanding of many-body quantum physics and nanoscale thermodynamics, with potential long-term applications in ultra-sensitive force detection, precision measurements at the interface of quantum mechanics and gravity, and energy-efficient quantum technologies.

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Sinha on this remarkable achievement!