Faraon Receives CAREER Grant from National Science Foundation

Andrei Faraon (BS '04) has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant from the National Science Foundation for his proposal titled "Quantum Light-Matter Interfaces Based on Rare-Earth Ions and Nanophotonics." The grant is the NSF's most prestigious award for junior faculty members. Each award provides a minimum of $500,000 over five years to "pursue outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations."

Faraon, who joined the Caltech faculty in 2012 as an assistant professor of applied physics and material science, will use the grant to research elements of quantum machines. These machines can theoretically process information in a faster and more secure way than current technologies by manipulating the quantum states of atoms and photons. Faraon's group will focus on building interfaces between light and matter that will enable efficient storage, retrieval, and transmission of quantum information.

To illustrate this work to a diverse audience of nonscientists, and as a part of the CAREER grant, Faraon and his group will work with students at Navajo Preparatory School, a high school just outside the Navajo Nation Reservation in Farmington, New Mexico. Members of the Faraon group and the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at Caltech have previously worked with the school as part of an outreach program.

Faraon also recently received a grant from the Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program for his work with light-matter interfaces and quantum computation.