2025 France-Chicago Conference on Spin Defects in Solids for Quantum Information Science
October 13, 2025
to October 17, 2025
8 a.m. - 7 p.m., Central European time
Boyer Center UChicago
39-45 Rue des Grands Moulins
Paris Rive Gauche
Advancing spins in solids for quantum technologies
About
This interdisciplinary workshop focuses on spins in solids for quantum technologies to bring together diverse research groups, foster collaborative work, encourage the open exchange of ideas, and broaden the interconnected network of researchers from the University of Chicago, Q-NEXT, CNRS, France and Europe. For more information, contact [email protected].
Scientific and Organisational Committee
The Scientific and Organisational Committee members are David Awschalom, Nazar Delegan, F. Joseph Heremans, Benjamin Pingault and Jiefei Zhang. Administrative support is provided by Maria Guarte, Leah Hesla, Charlotte Holloway and Betsy O’Connor.
Location
The University of Chicago Boyer Centre and Research Institute is located at 39-45 Rue des Grands Moulins in Paris Rive Gauche, a district close to the French National Library and a hub for research and higher education.
Schedule
Oct. 13-14: Scientific talks.
Oct. 15: Public outreach event: Quantum Casino. See details below.
Oct. 16: Conference steering committee meeting with Paris-based participants and discussions on collaboration opportunities; technical visits.
Oct. 17: Scientific discussions; technical visits.
Opening remarks David Awschalom (University of Chicago)
Patrice Bertet (CEA Paris-Saclay)
10:00 – 10:30
Spin mechanics with NV centres in diamonds Gabriel Hétet (ENS Paris Ulm)
10:30 – 11:00
Improving qubit coherence through environment engineering Benjamin Pingault (Argonne National Laboratory)
11:00 – 11:30
Break
11:30 – 12:00
High-resolution spectroscopy of individual nuclear spins using microwave photon counting Patrice Bertet (CEA Paris-Saclay)
12:00 – 12:30
Low-noise and low-disorder Si quantum dot spin qubits made with 300 mm process Clement Godfrin (Imec)
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 14:30
Quantum materials engineering in diamond: creating oriented NV centre arrays and tailored growth via chemical vapor deposition Shannon Nicley (Michigan State University)
14:30 – 15:00
Probing superconductivity at high pressure using NV centre in diamond Marie-Pierre Adam (ENS Paris-Saclay)
15:00 – 15:30
From diamond defects to protein-based qubit sensors Peter Maurer (University of Chicago)
15:30 – 16:00
Quantum spin microscope: technology and applications Christian Degen (ETH Zurich)
16:00 – 16:30
Break
16:30 – 17:00
Exploring novel solid-state qubits through materials design F. Joseph Heremans (Argonne National Laboratory)
17:00 – 17:30
Defect spins and organic radicals coupled to superconducting microwave resonators John Morton (University College London)
17:30 – 18:00
Establishing scalable quantum network nodes based on germanium-vacancy in diamond Katharina Senkalla (University of Ulm)
18:00 – 19:30
Poster session
19:30
Conference reception
Mardi 14 oct
8:30 – 9:00
Breakfast and networking
9:00 – 9:30
Rare-earth doped epitaxial oxide thin films grown by CVD for quantum technologies Alexandre Tallaire (Chimie ParisTech)
9:30 – 10:00
Storing and manipulating light on-chip with erbium dopants Elizabeth Goldschmidt (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
10:00 – 10:30
Electronic clock transitions and entanglement storage in 171-ytterbium Mikael Afzelius (University of Geneva)
10:30 – 11:00
Break
11:00 – 11:30
Optically addressable spin qubits in chemically synthesised molecules Sam Bayliss (University of Glasgow)
11:30 – 12:00
Engineering spin qubits in semiconductors and molecules David Awschalom (University of Chicago)
12:00 – 13:00
Lunch
13:00 – 13:30
Synthesis of diamond platforms for QIS: atomic mapping with charge state control and superconducting anisotropy Nazar Delegan (Argonne National Laboratory)
13:30 – 14:00
Integrated quantum technologies with diamond membranes Alexander High (University of Chicago)
14:00 – 14:30
Optically addressable solid state defect qubits for quantum sensing Adam Gali (Wigner Institute)
14:30 – 15:00
Diamond nanophotonic spin-photon interfaces (with the nitrogen-vacancy center!) Tim Schröder (Humboldt University of Berlin)
15:00 – 15:30
Break
15:30 – 16:00
Laser writing of defects in diamond Jason Smith (University of Oxford)
16:00 – 16:30
Scaling up colour centres in silicon carbide for quantum networks Florian Kaiser (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology)
16:30 – 17:00
Noise-free and photonically integrated silicon carbide qubits Christopher Anderson (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
17:00 – 18:30
Organisers’ panel discussion Attendees plan next steps
Public event: Quantum Casino
Mercredi 15 oct, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
ISEP, 28 rue Notre Dame des Champs, 75006 Paris
Cap off the conference visit with a round of interactive games: Visit the Quantum Casino on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
The Quantum Casino introduces families to quantum technologies and their impact on our lives. Created by the University of Chicago’s STAGE Center within the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, the Quantum Casino gives participants an opportunity to explore quantum physics through cooperative and competitive play.
By participating in entertaining, hands-on games, players develop an intuition for the core principles of quantum science (superposition, measurement, randomness, uncertainty, entanglement, quantum key distribution) and a greater appreciation of the potential of quantum technologies. Instead of using words and equations to explain quantum physics, the Casino builds the concepts into the games’ mechanics. Every game is a first-hand interaction with key aspects of quantum science. Learn the game, learn the concepts.
The Casino also features a digital immersive and interactive “Quantum Photo Booth,” a collaboration with IBM.
The games have broad appeal. Nearly all can be played at different levels of difficulty. Everyone — nonexperts and accomplished scientists, people ages 10 to 80+ — will have fun being lured into learning quantum.
The Quantum Casino has toured the world, including stops in Chicago, Las Vegas, France, Switzerland and Japan.
