As the field of quantum materials evolves, many discoveries show how these exotic materials and their unique properties may pave the way forward for many emerging revolutionary applications.  A prime example of these unique material properties are demonstrated in a Nature Physics article by Prof. Alberto de la Torre and Prof. Gregory A. Fiete of Northeastern University’s Physics Department and QMSI, and their collaborators, who have discovered a novel mechanism for the dynamic switching of the quantum material tantalum disulfide between metallic and insulating phases.

This research demonstrates that the dynamic control of the phase of tantalum disulfide can be achieved via thermal quenching, which may enable the development of new efficient functional devices that are dynamically switchable between metallic and insulating behaviors, enabling potential applications in multiple areas, including electronics, optoelectronics, photonics, and many other emerging technologies.

In the quantum world, systems are rarely isolated—constant interactions with the environment cause decoherence, which usually erodes fragile quantum effects. Surprisingly, noise can also organize matter into entirely new phases.

In a recent study led by Prof. Yizhi You of Northeastern University, with collaborators from CU Boulder, Penn State, and Georgia Tech, the team explores quantum phases in open, noisy systems through a holographic lens—an idea from high-energy physics that links theories across dimensions. They show that certain far-from-equilibrium mixed quantum states can be understood as the boundary of a pure state in one higher dimension. This holographic mapping turns questions about the topology of mixed states into familiar topological features of pure states, offering a powerful new toolkit—and practical pathways—for identifying and experimentally preparing intriguing mixed-state topological phases.

Congratulations go out to QMSI’s Prof. Paul Stevenson of Northeastern University’s Physics Department on his new Google Academic Research Award for Quantum Neuroscience.  With this new grant, Prof. Stevenson and his group will be exploring key questions about how spin-dependent quantum effects play a functional role in biological processes. Not only is this research critical to understanding the fundamentals of biological processes but will also be important to technological applications in quantum computing and quantum sensing.

Congratulations to QMSI’s Prof. Paul Stevenson (Physics) on his new NIH MIRA grant “Quantum sensor-enabled nanoscale magnetic resonance”.

This award will support the development of biocompatible quantum sensing tools to explore biomolecular dynamics at the nanoscale, providing new, quantum-enabled, approaches to single-molecule biophysics.

More specifically, the objective of this proposal is to develop novel strategies for integrating these quantum sensors (the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond) with proteins and biomembranes. Prof. Stevenson’s innovation is a suite of experimental strategies to improve the sensor compatibility with biological systems, ranging from minimizing photodamage using a total internal reflection geometry, to localizing targets at the sensor surface with supported lipid bilayer formation.

In a recently published article, QMSI’s Prof. Kin Chung Fong and collaborators developed and demonstrated a revolutionary platform that miniaturizes superconducting qubits by 10,000 times as compared to conventional designs. Specifically, vertically stacked van der Waals Josephson junctions with semiconducting weak links are leveraged since their crystalline structures and clean interfaces offer a promising platform for quantum devices. The team observed robust Josephson coupling across 2–12 nm (3–18 atomic layers) of semiconducting WSe2 and, notably, a crossover from proximity- to tunneling-type behavior with increasing weak-link thickness. Building on these results, the team fabricated a prototype all-crystalline merged-element transmon qubit with transmon frequency and anharmonicity closely matching design parameters. The collaborators demonstrated dispersive coupling between this transmon and a microwave resonator, highlighting the potential of crystalline superconductor-semiconductor structures for compact, tailored superconducting quantum devices.

In a recently published article, Prof. Alberto de la Torre of the Quantum Materials and Sensing Institute and co-workers explore how spatial variations—such as twist angle misalignment, nanoscale disorder, and atomic relaxation—impact Moiré heterostructures and their excitonic properties. They highlight advanced characterization techniques like second harmonic generation, scanning near-field optical microscopy, and laser scanning tunneling microscopy, offering insights into Moiré excitons and their potential applications in optoelectronics and quantum technologies.

A novel approach is proposed for the detection of dark-matter in a recently published article, entitled “Graphene-based super-light invisible matter particle search,” authored by Prof. Kin Chung Fong of the Quantum Materials and Sensing Institute at Northeastern University, and collaborators from the University of South Dakota, Texas A&M University, Chungnam National University, and Pohang University of Science and Technology.

The proposed new dark-matter detection strategy improves the minimum detectable mass of super-light dark-matter by more than 3 orders of magnitude compared to ongoing experiments. The approach leverages the Pi-bond electrons in graphene in a Josephson junction to create a highly sensitive detector capable of detecting energy deposits from dark matter as small as ∼0.1 meV.

As recently featured in Northeastern Global News, Northeastern University scientists and collaborators have created a material and device that has enabled the observation of axion quasiparticles for the first time and allowed for a better understanding of dark matter.

Published in Nature, the research effort included multiple organizations and researchers, including three Northeastern physicists: Prof. Arun Bansil, a university distinguished professor and director of the Quantum Materials and Sensing Institute, Prof. Kin Chung Fong, an associate professor of physics and electrical and computer engineering, and Dr. Barun Ghosh, a postdoctoral student.

On February 21, 2025, Northeastern University undergraduate students participated in a tour of quantum research at QMSI. The students had the opportunity to learn about the institute and the quantum research initiatives being pursued by Northeastern University’s world-class QMSI faculty,  research scientists, post-doctoral associates, and graduate students. In addition, a tour of the QMSI laboratories on the Northeastern University Burlington Campus provided real-life exposure to the activities and instrumentation involved in executing leading-edge quantum research.

For a comprehensive review of the vibrant field of quantum materials, look no further than the excellent review article by Prof. Vincent G. Harris, of Northeastern University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and member of QMSI, and Prof. Parisa Andalib, of Northeastern University’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

Spanning both explanations of fundamentals quantum principles and emerging technologies applicable to a multitude of commercial applications, the article is an outstanding review for both experts and novices alike.