Jonathan Wheeler impressed the audience with his results and presentation and passed his PhD Final Oral Exam with flying colors on May 27, 2026 in TOX 2104. The title of his Dissertation is Tuning the Optoelectronic Properties of Cr(III) Diimines through Ligand Design. Well done, Jon!
A robust new telecom qubit in silicon
Newly discovered CN complex provides a more durable quantum defect that may accelerate advanced quantum technologies based on silicon. Qubits can be based on atomic-scale defects within a crystal. A prototype example is the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center, which consists of a nitrogen (N) atom sitting next to a vacancy (V, a missing carbon atom) within a diamond crystal. These defects can interact with both electrons and light, which allows them to emit single photons (quanta of light) that can transmit quantum information or be processed in quantum networks.
Silicon has gained interest as a host material for defect qubits, because—unlike in the case of diamond—the mature fabrication and processing of silicon will allow scalable production of quantum computers and networks.
Sarah Kromer Wins the 2026 Robert A. Osteryoung Award for Research!
Over the course of her Ph.D., Sarah has worked extensively on projects focusing on the elucidation and manipulation of the photophysical properties of bi-platinum complexes showing unique coherent features on the time scales of single femtoseconds. Sara has also contributed to numerous collaborative research projects both nationwide and internationally.
Here is the email from Prof. Smirnova:
Dear Sarah
It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been named a recipient of the 2026 Robert A. Osteryoung Award in Research.
The Department will honor you at our Spring Graduation Ceremony on 05/08/2026.
Congratulations on this tremendous accomplishment! Thank you for your contributions to the Department of Chemistry and our community.
With best regards—
Tatyana I. Smirnova
Professor
Director of Graduate Programs
Department of Chemistry
North Carolina State University