Congratulations to Yuan Ping, Kejun Li, and Shimin Zhang on their recognition by the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering for their recent work on spin defect qubits for quantum information science! Link to news.
An experimental team at Purdue University lead by Tongcang Li, had created a spin quibit in hexagonal boron nitride by creating a carbon-13 defect through implantation. However, the experimental team could not determine the atomic structure responsible observed optical response. Using pioneering first-principles computational tools developed in the Ping Group, Yuan Ping, Kejun Li, and Shimin Zhang were able to identify the quibit’s atomic structure by computing the spin and optical properties. The identification of the specific defect structure is a critical step for the defects application in quantum information science.
Related papers:
“Single nuclear spin detection and control in a van der Waals material”, Xingyu Gao,Sumukh Vaidya, Kejun Li, Saakshi Dikshit, Shimin Zhang, Peng Ju, Kunhong Shen, Yuanbin Jin, Yuan Ping,and Tongcang Li, Nature, 643, 943, (2025).
“Excited-State Dynamics and Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance of Solid-State Spin Defects from First Principles“, Kejun Li, Vsevolod D. Dergachev, Ilya D. Dergachev, Shimin Zhang, Sergey A. Varganov, and Yuan Ping, Physical Review B, 110, 184302, (2024).