News

Congratulations to our Summer 2024 CU PREP Graduate

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 19:57:51 +0000

Congratulations to our Summer 2024 CU PREP Graduate Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/13/2024 - 13:57

Congratulations to our Summer 2024 CU PREP Graduate!

Hannah Knaack - Ph.D. in Physics

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A Band-Aid for the heart? New 3D printing method makes this, and much more, possible

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 19:41:10 +0000

A Band-Aid for the heart? New 3D printing method makes this, and much more, possible Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/07/2024 - 13:41

A CU Boulder-led research team—including CU PREP Postdoctoral Associate Thomas Kolibaba and former PREP Research Associate Jason Killgore—has created a new biomaterial that is both strong and flexible, and can be 3D printed for custom biomedical applications.

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CU PREP alum John Mates featured in NIST's Taking Measure Blog

Anonymous — Thu, 30 May 2024 19:34:00 +0000

CU PREP alum John Mates featured in NIST's Taking Measure Blog Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/30/2024 - 13:34

CU Boulder and PREP alum John "Ben" Mates' (PhDPhys'11) dissertation is now a hot topic and "required reading for many scientists interested in multiplexing." Mates completed his PhD while conducting research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) through CU's Professional Research Experience Program (CU PREP).

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CU PREP office to undergo major renovations

Anonymous — Wed, 22 May 2024 20:24:11 +0000

CU PREP office to undergo major renovations Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/22/2024 - 14:24

The CU PREP Office (DUAN D1B37) is undergoing a major renovation starting May 27, 2024. The renovations will overhaul the space, providing a modernized look and feel to these areas that welcome new students, staff, researchers, faculty, and visitors.

Construction is expected to last through December 2024. Staff from the affected offices are being temporarily relocated to other spaces in the Duane Physics building for the duration of the project.

Here's where you can find us starting May 22, 2024:

DUAN F315

Tiffany Mason – CU PREP Program Coordinator
Lisa Valencia – CU PREP HR/Payroll Liaison

DUAN F533

Jane Hill – CU PREP Program & Travel Services Professional
George Peterman – Immigration & Operations Services Senior Professional

The CU PREP Office (DUAN D1B37) is undergoing major renovations starting May 27, 2024. Here's where you can find staff from the affected offices.

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CU PREP researchers receive notable recognition

Anonymous — Thu, 16 May 2024 22:15:03 +0000

CU PREP researchers receive notable recognition Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/16/2024 - 16:15

NIST Boulder Campus (Image credit: R. Jacobson/NIST)

Three CU Boulder Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) researchers were recently recognized along with their research groups at NIST for their outstanding scientific achievements.

“Congratulations to PREP researchers Bakhrom Oripov, Benedikt Hampel, and Saeed Khan for these impressive awards,” said CU PREP Program Manager and Professor Paul Beale. “We’re thrilled to have such remarkable scientists contributing to their fields.”

2023 Applied Physics Letters Rising Stars Collection

Each year, Applied Physics Letters (APL) selects outstanding publications by emerging investigators for inclusion in the APL Rising Stars Collection. This year, two CU PREP participants were recognized in the collection.

Bakhrom Oripov, postdoctoral fellow in the Quantum Nanophotonics Group, was recognized in the 2023 APL Rising Stars Collection for the paper “The thermally-coupled imager: A scalable readout architecture for superconducting nanowire single photon.” Oripov earned his PhD in condensed matter physics from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2020 and has been conducting research at NIST through PREP since 2021.
Benedikt Hampel, postdoctoral fellow in the Faint Photonics Group, was recognized in the 2023 APL Rising Stars Collection for the paper “Trap-Integrated Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors with Improved RF Tolerance for Trapped-Ion Qubit State Readout.” After earning his PhD in electrical engineering from TU Braunschweig, Germany in 2018, Hampel joined PREP as a postdoctoral associate in 2021.

2023 NIST Precision Measurement Lab (PML) Distinguished Associate Award

This award recognizes associates for outstanding contributions to the Precision Measurement Laboratory.

Saeed Khan, senior research fellow in the Quantum Nanophotonics Group, received a 2023 NIST PML Distinguished Associate Award in recognition of his group receiving the 2023 Bronze Medal Award. The award citation read “for the monolithic integration of superconducting single-photon detectors with Josephson junctions for advanced computing and single-photon metrology.” Khan earned his PhD from the University of Central Florida and joined PREP in 2018.

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The Big Quantum Chill: NIST Scientists Modify Common Lab Refrigerator to Cool Faster With Less Energy

Anonymous — Thu, 16 May 2024 15:56:10 +0000

The Big Quantum Chill: NIST Scientists Modify Common Lab Refrigerator to Cool Faster With Less Energy Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/16/2024 - 09:56

A team of NIST scientists including PREP researchers Ryan Snodgrass and Vincent Kotsubo have dramatically reduced the time and energy required to chill materials to temperatures near absolute zero. Their prototype refrigerator could prove a boon for the burgeoning quantum industry, which widely uses ultracold materials.

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CU PREP Alumni Highlight: Bryce Primavera

Anonymous — Thu, 02 May 2024 17:28:35 +0000

CU PREP Alumni Highlight: Bryce Primavera Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/02/2024 - 11:28

Kirsten Apodaca

Bryce Primavera’s experience in CU’s Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was instrumental in preparing him for his future career. From starting research through PREP fresh out of undergrad, to completing his PhD, Primavera is now employed as a postdoctoral researcher at NIST. Learn more about his journey, his research focus at NIST, and advice for future PREP students.

Summer research paves the way

Primavera’s experience with PREP began the summer after earning his bachelor’s degree, in the joint Quantum Nanophotonics and Faint Photonics groups at NIST led by Rich Mirin and Sae Woo Nam. His research advisor at NIST was Staff Scientist Jeff Shainline. Primavera started pursuing his PhD in physics at CU Boulder, and soon resumed research in the group at NIST as a PREP graduate student in 2019.

Focusing on research

Primavera’s research at NIST focused on superconducting optoelectronic neuromorphic computing. “The field of neuromorphic computing strives to create hardware for artificial intelligence inspired by the neural architecture seen in biological organisms,” explained Primavera.

By emulating how the brain works, this technology will vastly improve the performance and efficiency of artificial intelligence systems. There are many approaches to this, but the method employed by NIST using superconducting single-photon detectors appears capable of creating neural-like networks on a massive scale, while operating much faster than the human brain.

“The superconducting single-photon detectors developed at NIST are promising for creating ultra-low power optical interconnects that could enable massively scalable networks of optoelectronic neurons,” said Primavera.

The majority of Primavera’s PhD research focused specifically on the design and testing of synaptic circuits. He investigated circuits combining single-photon detectors with devices called Josephson Junctions (JJs) which operate similarly to transistors in superconducting electronics.

“NIST is currently one of the only places in the world where single-photon detectors can be fabricated on the same chip as JJs,” said Primavera. “With this capability, we were able to create programmable artificial synapses that could process signals as low as an individual photon.”

‘Instrumental’ preparation leads to postdoc

After completing his PhD in physics in 2023, Primavera accepted a postdoctoral position at NIST, continuing research on circuits combining JJs with single-photon detectors. His focus has expanded from neuromorphic computing to include other applications of the circuits and the fabrication process. “Two of the most exciting areas are using JJs to support the scaling of large arrays of superconducting single-photon detectors and designing circuits to extract additional information from the detector responses.”

“The most valuable aspect of PREP for me has been the interactions with NIST staff,” said Primavera. He credits support and mentorship from his advisor in addition to connections with many other role models at NIST. “PREP provides the opportunity to observe and learn from many different people who have already established successful careers. Such an environment also builds confidence that you too can have a fruitful career in research.”

Through the unique environment at NIST spanning the intersection of academia, government, and industry, Primavera gained an important perspective on potential career paths. “PREP was instrumental in preparing me for my career. I had the opportunity to develop skills as an experimental physicist at a world-class institution surrounded by a terrific group of people,” said Primavera.

Advice for future PREP students

Primavera recommends students considering PREP explore the different research groups and reach out to staff they may be interested in working with. His summer research experience through PREP demonstrated the dynamic nature of research at NIST. “A summer position is a great low-commitment way to try things out,” he said.

About PREP

The Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is a special partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and CU Boulder. PREP provides research opportunities to CU undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers with a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in NIST labs to gain research experience alongside NIST scientists.

Bryce Primavera's experience in CU PREP was instrumental in preparing him for his future career. Learn more about his journey, his research focus at NIST, and advice for future PREP students.

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Fall 2023 NIST-PREP Graduates

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 17:47:00 +0000

Fall 2023 NIST-PREP Graduates Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 01/03/2024 - 10:47

Fall 2023 NIST-PREP Graduates

Congratulations to our Fall 2023 PREP student graduates!

Dahyeon Lee – Ph.D. in Physics
Bryce Primavera – Ph.D. in Physics
Jose Valencia – Ph.D. in Physics

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Test of general relativity predictions atop Rocky Mountains involves CU PREP students

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:17:21 +0000

Test of general relativity predictions atop Rocky Mountains involves CU PREP students Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/07/2023 - 09:17

CU PREP graduate students Wesley Brand, Tristan Rojo, and Eric Swiler from Andrew Ludlow's group are collaborating on a research project to advance geodesy and gravitational sensing. The team will measure tiny changes in the flow of time caused by differences in Earth's gravitational field at different altitudes.

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PREP alum Dr. Tara Fortier featured in NIST's Taking Measure blog

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 16:07:47 +0000

PREP alum Dr. Tara Fortier featured in NIST's Taking Measure blog Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/14/2023 - 09:07

Physics and CU PREP alum, Dr. Tara Fortier (PhysPhD'03) describes how the definition of a second will soon become more precise in NIST's Taking Measure blog.

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