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2025-09: Our preprint, "Room-temperature quantum entanglement in a van der Waals material," has been posted on arXiv. In this work, we demonstrate room-temperature quantum entanglement between an optically addressable electron spin and a strongly coupled carbon-13 nuclear spin in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN).
2025-09: Our article, "Coherent Spins in van der Waals Semiconductor GeS2 at Ambient Conditions," has been published in Nano Letters.
Purdue Physics: Quantum leap in 2D semiconductors: Purdue team unlocks room-temperature spin qubits in GeS₂
2025-08: Purdue University News: MRI technology inspires quantum advancement with 2D materials
2025-07: Purdue ECE: Purdue researchers achieve breakthrough in quantum sensing with 2D material
2025-07: Our article, "Single nuclear spin detection and control in a van der Waals material," has been published in Nature magazine.
2025-07: Welcome Dr. Bijuan Chen to our research group! Dr. Chen joins us from Harvard University, where she worked on quantum sensing of superconductors under high pressure. She is a coauthor of the Nature article “Imaging the Meissner effect in hydride superconductors using quantum sensors” [Nature 627, 73 (2024)]. We are excited to have her on the team!
2025-05: Prof. Tongcang Li will serve as the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Quantum Technologies (CQT). The CQT is an NSF-funded Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) created through an alliance between Purdue University, Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame. The center partners with industry and government stakeholders to identify compelling needs and challenges and then develop novel quantum technologies to address them.
2025-05: Junchi Feng received the Purdue University College of Science Undergraduate Scholarship. Congratulations!
2025-02: Prof. Tongcang Li received the 2025 Purdue University College of Science Research Award. Congratulations! The awards ceremony was held on February 27, 2025.
2024-12: The website for the Quantum Photonics Integrated Design Center (QuPIDC), a DOE-funded Energy Frontier Research Center, has been launched!
2024-11: Prof. Li received the 2024 Seed for Success Acorn Awards from Purdue University. Congratulations!
2024-11: Prof. Li delivered an invited talk at the "Mechanick Quantum Biosensing Workshop" held at the University of Maryland, College Park, on November 7, 2024.
2024-09: We are excited to be a member of the new DOE Quantum Photonic Integrated Design Center!
Department of Energy: Department of Energy Announces $118 Million for Energy Frontier Research Centers
2024-09: Our work, "nanotube spin defects for omnidirectional magnetic field sensing," is published in Nature Communications, 15, 7697 (2024).
2024-08: Some news reports about our Nature Communications article 'Quantum control and Berry phase of electron spins in rotating levitated diamonds in high vacuum':
New Atlas: Levitating nanodiamonds spin at 1.2 billion rpm in a vacuum
Gizmodo: These Levitating Nanodiamonds Are the World’s Smallest Disco Balls
Phys.org: Physicists throw world's smallest disco party with a levitating ball of fluorescent nanodiamond
2024-06: Prof. Tongcang Li gave three lectures on quantum sensing for the 2024 Quantum Summer School at the University of Wyoming.
2024-06: Prof. Tongcang Li gave an invited talk at the 21st International Symposium on the Physics of Semiconductors and Applications (ISPSA 2024) in Jeju, South Korea.
2024-05: Prof. Tongcang Li gave a Departmental Seminar about quantum sensing at the Australian National University. We thank the host of Prof. Yuerui Lu.
2024-04: The 2023 - 2024 edition of Interactions, an annual publication for Purdue's Department of Physics and Astronomy, featured our work!
2024-02: Xingyu Gao and Prof. Tongcang Li received the Bravo Plus Award from Purdue University. The Bravo Plus Award recognizes faculty and staff for exceptional contributions to the Department, College, and University as a whole. Congratulations!
2024-01: Our collaborative work "Isotope engineering for spin defects in van der Waals materials" was published in Nature Communications. Congratulations!
2023-12: Our recent work on levitating and spinning a nanodumbbell near nanostructures has been published in Nano Letters. Congratulations!
Purdue Physics: Purdue physicists lift a nano-dumbbell with light and spin it at 100 billion rpm near a surface
2023-10: Our former Ph.D. student, Dr. Zhujing Xu, has been selected as one of just 7 trailblazing young researchers to present at the Trailblazers Symposium at the California Institute of Technology! Congratulations! EAS Trailblazers (caltech.edu)
2023-08: Prof. Tongcang Li received the 2023 Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigator award! Congratulations!
Purdue University: Tongcang Li named 2023 Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigator - Research at Purdue
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Advancing the scientific frontier: 2023 Experimental Physics Investigators (moore.org)
2023-06: Our collaborative work "Coherent dynamics of strongly interacting electronic spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride" was published in Nature Communications. Congratulations!
2023-04: Xingyu Gao received the Karl Lark-Horovitz Award for outstanding research accomplishment, the Dr. Warner Black Award for practical accomplishments in physics, and the Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship! Congratulations! 2023 PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY AWARDS (adobe.com)
2023-04: Zhujing Xu received the 2023 Springer Thesis Award! Congratulations!
2023-04: Prof. Li was promoted to Full Professor of Physics and Astronomy with a joint appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University! Congratulations!
Faculty promotions at Purdue approved by board - Purdue University News
2023-01: Prof. Li give an invited talk at the AVS Quantum Science Workshop held at Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina in Redondo Beach, California, USA, January 19-20, 2023.
2022-12: Our work on nuclear spin polarization and control in a 2D material was highlighted in "2022 in Purdue Research".
2022-12: Our work "Optical Levitation with a Metalens" was included in "Optics in 2022," a special issue of Optics & Photonics News that highlights exciting peer-reviewed optics research that has emerged over the past year.
2022-11: Prof. Tongcang Li has been selected as a University Faculty Scholar by the Office of the Provost of Purdue University.
2022-10: Our work "Observation and control of Casimir effects in a sphere-plate-sphere system" was published in Nature Communications.
Purdue University: Casimir analog of a transistor demonstrated at Purdue University
2022-08: Our work "Nuclear spin polarization and control in hexagonal boron nitride" was published in Nature Materials.
Purdue University: 2D array of electron and nuclear spin qubits opens new frontier in quantum science
2022-07: Zhujing Xu passed her Ph.D. final defense. She has received the Harvard Quantum Initiative postdoctoral fellowship, and will join Harvard University as a postdoc after graduation. Congratulations!
2022-07: Photonics Research: Meet Tongcang Li and Xianshu Luo, New Associate Editors
2022-06: Our collaborative work “Excited-state spin-resonance spectroscopy of VB– defect centers in hexagonal boron nitride” was published in Nature Communications. We thank Prof. Fuchs and Prof. Vamivakas for this collaborative project.
2022-06: Prof. Tongcang Li will serve as an Associate Editor for Photonics Research (Impact factor: 7.254) of Optica Publishing Group. Photonics Research (optica.org)
2022-03: According to the U.S. News & World Report, Purdue University’s College of Engineering is No. 4 in overall national rankings of graduate engineering programs in the United States.
2022-02: Thanks to the invitation of Prof. Chong Zu, Prof. Li gave a seminar titled "Optically addressable spin qubits in 2D materials" at Washington University in St. Louis on Feb. 21, 2022.
Youtube video: Optically Addressable Spin Qubits in 2D Materials - YouTube
2021-12: Our work, "Non-reciprocal energy transfer through the Casimir effect," was published on Nature Nanotechnology.
Purdue University: Purdue researchers control the quantum vacuum
2021-11: Prof. Tongcang Li gave an AMO seminar titled "Levitated optomechanics and the Casimir effect" in the Department of Physics at the University of Virginia on Nov. 29, 2021. Thank Prof. Peter Schauss and Dr. Jin Yang for the host.
2021-11: Prof. Tongcang Li, Prof. Chao-Yang Lu, and Prof. Nick Vamivakas are organizing a focus collection on Quantum Emitters and Spin Defects in the journal Materials for Quantum Technology (IOP Publishing). The target deadline for contributions is 31 July 2022. Topics include but are not limited to: Quantum dot photon sources, Colour centres in diamond and other crystals, Optically addressable spin defects in solids, Rare-earth ions in solids, Single-molecule quantum emitters, Quantum emitters in 2D materials, Nanophotonic and plasmonic structures for quantum emitters.
2021-10: Our paper, "On-chip optical levitation with a metalens in vacuum," is published on Optica.
Phys.org: Chip-based optical tweezers levitate nanoparticles in a vacuum
Optics & Photonics News: Optical Tweezers on a Chip
2021-09: Our paper, "High-contrast plasmonic-enhanced shallow spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride for quantum sensing," is published on Nano Letters.
Purdue University: Taking Purdue Gold to a whole new level: Purdue researchers use gold film to enhance quantum sensing with qubits in a 2D material
Phys.org: Researchers use gold film to enhance quantum sensing with qubits in a 2D material
2021-07: Our paper, "On-chip optical levitation with a metalens in vacuum," is posted on arXiv: [2107.09659] On-chip optical levitation with a metalens in vacuum (arxiv.org)
2021-06: Our paper, "High-contrast plasmonic-enhanced shallow spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride for quantum sensing," is posted on arXiv:
2021-06: Prof. Li gave an invited talk on the Workshop Challenges for Witnessing Quantum Aspects of Gravity in a Lab, ICTP-SAIFR, São Paulo, Brazil, June 7-11, 2021. Here is the recorded video: Ultrasensitive torque detection with an optically levitated nanoparticle
2021-04: A special issue, "Optomechanics: Science and Applications," of Photonics is open for submission (Deadline: 31 December 2021). Topics include but are not limited to cavity optomechanics, levitated optomechanics, superfluid optomechanics, optomechanical crystals, optomechanics with 1D and 2D materials, optomechanical transduction, optomechanical sensing, spin optomechanics, hybrid optomechanical devices.
2021-04: Our paper, "Femtosecond Laser Writing of Spin Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride," is published on ACS Photonics.
2021-03: According to the U.S. News, our College of Engineering at Purdue University ranks No. 4 in the United States, tied with California Institute of Technology.
2021-02: Our paper, "Non-reciprocal energy transfer through the Casimir effect," is posted on arXiv. [2102.12857] Non-reciprocal energy transfer through the Casimir effect (arxiv.org)
2020-12: In collaboration with Prof. Shivaram and Prof. Aharonovich's research groups, we have used a femtosecond laser to write spin qubits in a 2D van der Waals material (hBN) directly. Preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2012.03207
2020-08: We are excited to receive the DARPA QUEST award to develop a new theoretical framework that combines quantum properties of light and condensed matter.
Purdue ECE: Team led by Prof. Zubin Jacob wins DARPA QUEST award
2020-06: Jonghoon Ahn passed his Ph.D. final defense. He will join Prof. David Awschalom's group as a postdoc. Congratulations!
2020-06: Hosted by the Science Fiction Society of Silicon Valley, Prof. Li gave an online introductory presentation about quantum mechanics to the general public on June 7, 2020.
2020-05: Zhujing Xu received the Karl Lark-Horovitz Award. Congratulations!
2020-05: Dr. Paul Muzikar, Dr. Tongcang Li, and Dr. David Nolte have been awarded Outstanding Faculty Awards by the students of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University. Congratulations!
Purdue University: Students of Physics award outstanding faculty
2020-04: Jaehoon Bang passed his Ph.D. final defense. He will join Intel Corporation after graduation. Congratulations!
2020-04: Prof. Li is promoted to Associate Professor with tenure, effective 8/2020. Congratulations!
Purdue University: Faculty promotions at Purdue approved by board
2020-01: Our work "Ultrasensitive torque detection with an optically levitated nanorotor" was published on Nature Nanotechnology.
Purdue University: Light powers world's fastest-spinning object
Phys.org: The most sensitive torque measuring device ever built
Newsweek: World's Fastest Spinning Object Created by Scientists—and It Rotates at 300 Billion RPM
2019-11: Welcome Kunhong Shen to join our group!
2019-10: Our collaborative work with Prof. Zubin Jacob on thermal radiation of boron nitride nanotubes was published on Nano Letters.
Phys.org: New antenna tech to equip ceramic coatings with heat radiation control
2019-09: Optics & Photonics News: The Enduring Impact of Two Discoveries
2019-06: Prof. Tongcang Li is named as a Senior Member of the Optical Society of America (OSA). Congratulations!
2019-06: Prof. Tongcang Li is selected as one of the top 10 finalists for the 2019 Moore Inventor Fellows Award. Congratulations!
2019-04: Zhujing Xu wins a poster award in the International Symposium of Quantum Science and Technology hosted at Purdue University. Congratulations!
2019-01: Purdue University: Purdue dives deeper into potentially game-changing field of quantum science and engineering
2019-01: Jonghoon Ahn received the Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship from the Graduate School of Purdue University. Congratulations!
2018-12: American Physical Society (APS Physics) website Physics: Highlights of the Year 2018
2018-12: Purdue University: 2018's Top 10 research news stories from Purdue
2018-12: Optics & Photonics News: Optical Tweezers Enable Innovative Science
2018-10: Prof. Li received the "Seed for Success Award" from Purdue University.
2018-10: Physics World: Feynman’s ratchet is built at last using 19 optical tweezers
2018-09: Science Alert: Summer's Over. Here Are The 9 Most Important Science Stories You Need to Catch Up On
2018-08: Welcome Peng Ju and Xingyu Gao to join our group!
2018-07: GE Reports: The 5 Coolest Things On Earth This Week
2018-07: Our work "Optically Levitated Nanodumbbell Torsion Balance and GHz Nanomechanical Rotor" was published in Physical Review Letters. It was reported by APS website Physics, Nature magazine, NBC News, Fox News, and many other major media.
Purdue University: World’s fastest man-made spinning object could help study quantum mechanics
APS website Physics: Focus: The Fastest Spinners
Nature magazine: Pirouetting particles twirl at one billion times a second
Gizmodo: Scientists Made the Fastest-Spinning Particles Ever to Test the Limits of Physics
NBC News: Tiny 'dumbbells' that spin 60 billion times a minute may help solve quantum mysteries
Fox News: What in the whirled? Tiny, floating dumbbell rotates 60 billion times per minute
Optics & Photonics News: Lasers Drive the World’s Fastest Spinners
Physics World: Nanoparticles set spinning record
YouTube video about our research: World's Fastest Spinning Nanoparticle
2018-04: Zhujing Xu received the Graduate School Summer Research Grant from Purdue University. Congratulations!
2018-02: Optical Society of America: Tongcang Li discusses his work with nanoparticles--OSA Stories
2018-02: Our work "Experimental test of the differential fluctuation theorem and a generalized Jarzynski equality for arbitrary initial states" was published in Physical Review Letters. It was selected as a PRL Editors' suggestion, and featured in APS website Physics:
APS website Physics: Synopsis: Fluctuation Theorems Tested with a Levitating Bead
Phys.org: Researchers validate several fluctuation theorems for first time
2018-01: We received Science Bulletin 2017 Best Paper Award from Science China Press.
2017-12: "'Time crystals' built in the lab" at Harvard University and University of Maryland was selected as one of the "Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2017" by Physics World. We are glad that we published one of the first papers about time crystals (together with two papers by Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek in the same issue of PRL in 2012). Our 2012 PRL cover paper "Space-Time Crystals of Trapped Ions" also proposed the Time Quasicrystals (on 3rd page): "When the ratio of the rotation frequencies of the two rings is an irrational number, the ions have an order in time but cannot reproduce their positions simultaneously. Thus we have a time quasicrystal, in analog of a conventional spatial quasicrystal."
2017-12: Prof. Li gave an invited Quantum information/AMO seminar at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) on December 13, 2017. We thank the host of Prof. Bryce Gadway.
2017-11 : Prof. Li gave a prestigious ITAMP/HQOC Joint Quantum Sciences Seminar at Harvard University on Nov. 15, 2017. We thank the host of Prof. Mikhail Lukin, Prof. Hossein Sadeghpour, Prof. Kang-Kuen Ni, and Prof. Marko Loncar.
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/events/itamphqoc-seminar/11152017
2017-09 : Prof. Li gave a colloquium in Department of Physics of University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. We thank the host of Prof. Surajit Sen.
2017-07 : Prof. Li delivered invited talks at "The 7th International Multidiscipline Conference on Optofluidics 2017" in Singapore, and "The 9th Joint Meeting of Chinese Physicists Worldwide" in Beijing.
2017-04 : Zhujing Xu received the 2017 Rolf Scharenberg Graduate Research Fellowship. Congratulations!
2017-03 : Prof. Li chaired the session "Quantum Information Science with Solid-State Defects, Photons, and Atoms" during the 2017 APS March Meeting at New Orleans, Louisiana on March 17, 2017. Prof. Li also gave a presentation about our work on levitated nanodiamonds.
2017-01 : Our paper "Realization of Translational Symmetry in Trapped Cold Ion Rings" is published in Phys. Rev. Lett. as a PRL Editors' Suggestion.
2017-01 : Our invited review paper "Bringing quantum mechanics to life: from Schrödinger's cat to Schrödinger's microbe" is published in Contemporary Physics. DOI:10.1080/00107514.2016.1261860
2016-09 : Conference: Quantum Engineering of Levitated Systems [September 25 - October 1, 2016, Bensaque, Spain]
Prof. Li co-organized an international workshop entitled "Quantum Engineering of Levitated Systems" at Benasque, Spain during Sep. 25-Oct. 1, 2016. This event was organized together with Jason Twamley (Macquarie, Australia), Mathieu Juan (Macquarie, Australia), and Peter Barker (U College London, UK).
2016-09 : Our paper "Torsional Optomechanics of a Levitated Nonspherical Nanoparticle" is just published in Phys. Rev. Lett. It was selected as a PRL Editors' Suggestion and featured in APS website Physics. Here are some news reports:
APS website Physics: Synopsis: Twisting in Thin Air
Science Daily: Levitating nanoparticle improves 'torque sensing'
2016-08 : Welcome Zhujing Xu to join our group!
2016-07: Our paper "Electron spin control of optically levitated nanodiamonds in vacuum" is published in Nature Communications. Here are some news reports and a video about our research:
Purdue University news: Electron 'spin control' of levitated nanodiamonds could bring advances in sensors, quantum information processing
Science Daily: Electron spin control: Levitated nanodiamond is research gem
YouTube video about our research: Levitating Nanodiamond Research (Introduced by Dr. Thai Hoang)
2016-06: Prof. Li speaks at the workshop on "Information Engines at the Frontiers of Nanoscale Thermodynamics" in Telluride, CO.
2016-06: BBC Knowledge Asia Edition featured our work.
2016-06: Prof. Li gave invited talks at Zhejiang University, Tsinghua University, and Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics China at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in June 2016.
2016-05: Prof. Li chaired the Focus session "Interfacing Nanophotonics with Cold Atoms" during the DAMOP 2016 conference at Providence, Rhode Island on May 26, 2016. Prof. Li also gave an oral presentation about our work on levitated nanodiamonds during this conference.
2016-04: Our collaborator, Dr. Zhangqi Yin, was selected as one of top 30 most creative young investigators in the whole China in spring 2016 for our collaborative work on "Schrödinger's bacteria" (pdf, arXiv). Congratulations! (2016, 那些闪耀中国的科技新星, 春花烂漫)
2016-03: Our work on "Schrödinger's bacteria" (pdf, arXiv) was included in "10 Quantum Truths About Our Universe" published in Forbes: 10 Quantum Truths About Our Universe
Backreaction: 10 Essentials of Quantum Mechanics
2016-03: Prof. Li received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. Congratulations!
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECE/Spotlights/professor-tongcang-li-receives-nsf-career-award
http://www.physics.purdue.edu/news/2016/2016-04-04-li-nsf-career.html
2016-03: Yanqiao (Josh) Fang won a Gold Medal in "Lafayette Regional Science and Engineering Fair" during March 4-5, 2016. More than 500 students from 20 area schools participated in this event. Congratulations!
2016-03: Prof. Li presented a talk about our work on levitated nanodiamonds in 2016 APS March Meeting in Baltimore, MD.
2016-01: Our paper "Quantum superposition, entanglement, and state teleportation of a microorganism on an electromechanical oscillator" was published on Science Bulletin, 61:163–171 (2016). (pdf) Its preprint is also available on arXiv. This work has attracted broad interest:
Physics World: Could 'Schrödinger's bacterium' be placed in a quantum superposition?
The Guardian: Schrödinger's microbe: physicists plan to put living organism in two places at once
Motherboard: 'Schrödinger's Bacterium' Puts a Biological Spin on Quantum Mechanics
Phys.org: Physicists propose the first scheme to teleport the memory of an organism
International Business Times: Teleportation of bacteria's memories made possible by Schrödinger and his cat
Popular Science: Researchers Propose Method For Teleporting Creatures' Memories
凤凰网 财经: 量子技术全面提速 10股面临重大机遇
证券时报: 量子技术或圆瞬移梦想 概念股有望破茧成蝶
2015-12: Prof. Li gave an invited public lecture at the Graduate Community Center of Stanford University to a broad audience, including Stanford students and residents at Silicon Valley.
2015-12: Prof. Li gave an invited talk at the OSA Incubator on Levitated Optomechanics in Washington, DC.
2015-11: Prof. Li presented an invited seminar at Arizona State University. Thank Prof. Nongjian Tao for the host.
2015-10: The Conversation: Physicists prove ‘quantum spookiness’ and start chasing Schrödinger’s cat.
2015-10: Our experimental paper "Observation of vacuum-enhanced electron spin resonance of levitated nanodiamonds" was posted on arXiv.
2015-10: Purdue Quantum Center was launched during a 2-day international workshop on quantum control of light and matter. We are proud to be a member of this new center.
Purdue Quantum Center Kickoff: http://www.conf.purdue.edu/landing_pages/pcqworkshop/default.aspx
Purdue University: Purdue launching new quantum center during workshop
Semiconductor Today: Purdue launching Quantum Center during workshop
2015-07: Welcome Rui Pan from Peking University (China) to join our group as a visiting PhD student!
2015-06: Prof. Li presented a talk about our latest results in spin-optomechanics of levitated nanodiamonds during the 46th Annual DAMOP Meeting.
2015-04: Prof. Li presented an invited seminar at Indiana University Bloomington. Thank Prof. Gerardo Ortiz for the host.
2015-04: Prof. Li presented an invited colloquium in the Department of Physics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Thank Prof. Gautam Vemuri for the host.
2015-03: Prof. Li presented an invited Valparaiso University Colloquium on Innovative Science (VUCIS) to a broad audience from biology, chemistry, physics and pre-medical arts at Valparaiso University. Thank Prof. Stan Zygmunt for the host.
2015-03: Prof. Li chaired the session "Optomechanics and Hybrid Systems" during the APS March Meeting 2015.
2015-02: Prof. Li presented an invited semenar at University of Maryland, College Park. Thank Prof. Christopher Jarzynski for the host.
2015-01: Welcome Jaehoon Bang to join our group!
2015-01: Our paper "The measurement Einstein deemed impossible" was published on Physics Today.
2014-12: Welcome Dr. Thai Hoang to join our group! Dr. Thai Hoang did his PhD in Georgia Institute of Technology, and has published high-impact papers in Nature Physics, Nature Communications, and Physical Review Letters during his PhD.
2014-12: Our paper "Axial Plane Optical Microscopy" was published on Scientific Reports.
2014-11: We have trapped a nanodiamond in air with a single beam optical tweezer in our new lab at Purdue!
2014-11: Prof. Tongcang Li presented a talk for about 400 attendees at QCMC 2014 (12th Intl. Conference on Quantum Communication, Measurement and Computing). Prof. Li also gave talks at New Laser Scientists Conference 2014, and Frontiers in Optics (FiO) /Laser Science (LS) 2014.
2014-09: Welcome Jonghoon Ahn to join our group!
2014-08: Welcome the first student of our lab, Kenan Turkmeneli!
2014-08: Prof. Tongcang Li's Lab opens at Purdue University!
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