Scialog Funding for Cornell Quantum Entanglement Research
Quantum Frontiers: Seven Interdisciplinary Teams Win First Scialog Awards
Scialog Collaboration Innovation Award
The Scialog: Quantum Matter and Information program funded seven interdisciplinary research teams in its first year, advancing quantum physics. The device matches the Lindblad master equation, an important quantum thermodynamics mathematical tool. The gadget resembles a minimum three-level quantum absorption refrigerator because dephasing noise provides an infinite-temperature reservoir.
New Quantum Science Phase
The UN has declared 2025 the “International Year of Quantum Science and Technology,” making the program vital. The first conference brought together 57 early-career researchers in physics, chemistry, materials science, applied mathematics, and engineering in Tucson, Arizona, from October 16–19, 2025.
The breakthrough could alter quantum technology, according to RCSA president and CEO Eric Isaacs, who noted its rapid evolution. Isaacs compared quantum research to recent Nobel Prizes in physics and economics, arguing that it can solve critical global problems in computers and beyond. He believed science and technology transform culture and society through “creative destruction,” fostering long-term economic growth.
Broken Silos with “Science and Dialog”
Named after the combination of “science + dialog,” the initiative aims to accelerate breakthroughs by creating new networks that cross disciplinary boundaries. The goal is to encourage predictive and rigorous experimental design above random discovery.
At the conference, fellows formed breakout groups to brainstorm novel quantum research ideas and identify knowledge gaps. This cooperative atmosphere produced brief proposal pitches for ideas generated throughout the three-day program. Jamie Bender of the Brinson Foundation expects these changes to affect various scientific domains.
Keynote: LIGO to Fractional Charges
The conference's two famous keynote speakers spark lively discussions. Rana Adhikari of the California Institute of Technology spoke on “The Angst and Ennui of Measuring Zero” about his LIGO work. Adhikari described the challenges of decreasing random and systematic noise in gravitational wave detectors using frequency-dependent squeezing and deep learning for feedback management. He also discussed quantum gravity experiment advancements.
Xiaoyang Zhu of Columbia University gave her second keynote, “Fractional Charges and Where to Find Them.” Time-domain pump-probe spectroscopy was used by Zhu to discover quantum phases. He explained how high magnetic fields in two-dimensional electron vapors cause fractional charges and presented fresh findings in twisted bilayer graphene that show these phenomena even without magnetic fields.
Skyrmions: Cornell-Led Partnership Highlights
“Quantum Entanglement of Skyrmion-Antiskyrmion Pairs” is a notable funded project this year.Kazuki Ikeda, Serena Eley, and Youn Jue (Eunice) Bae come from UM Boston, UW, and Cornell, respectively.
Bae, an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology, will create and control these tiny, whirlpool-like magnetic structures using theoretical calculations and experiments. The group intends to promote quantum technologies and rigorous quantum experiment design by predicting reliable techniques to manufacture entangled pairs of skyrmions and antiskyrmions. Winners of 2025 Collaborative Innovation Award
The seven winning teams represent a variety of quantum inquiry:
The book Quantum Differential Spectroscopy: Mapping Entanglement in Solids by Alex Frañó, Fang Liu, and Yao Wang is pertinent. Tim Su and Sherry Zhang, Spin-Photon Interfaces in Molecular Silicon Clusters. Ceren Dag, Elizabeth Goldschmidt, Luis Jáuregui, and Alex Frañó (Optical Defects as Internal Probes of Correlation) investigated quantum sensing from within. Bae, Eley, and Ikeda: Quantum Entanglement of Skyrmion-Antiskyrmion Pairs. Xu, Liu, and Susarla propose reconfigurable ferron networks for terahertz quantum interconnects. Yao Wang and Yonglong Xie's scanning charge-noise spectroscopy technique for fractional excitation entanglement visualization. Loss of Photonic Entanglement: A Novel Investigation of Classical and Quantum Spin Dynamics in Materials by Fabio Anza, Hendrik Utzat, and Lilia Xie
Looking Ahead
The Scialog: Quantum Matter and Information initiative will meet again. All scholars can apply for the 2026 conference until April 1, 2026. As this community of Fellows grows, the RCSA and its partners hope to develop a more coherent quantum community that can go from theory to technology.
