Pronouns: she/her
Elena joined the Awschalom group in 2017 after graduating from Brown University with a degree in Engineering-Physics. Her work focused on the divacancy in silicon carbide. Elena
is interested in device fabrication for improved readout and manipulation of spin defects. Outside of research, Elena loves the great city of Chicago, yoga/meditation, and biking on the lakefront. Elena is now at EeroQ Quantum Hardware, working towards engineering the first quantum computer that uses electrons on superfluid helium.
A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit
T. Zheng, M. I. B. Utama, X. Gao, M. Kar, X. Yu, S. Kang, H. Cai, T. Ruan, D. Ovetsky, U. Zvi, G. Lao, Y. Wang, O. Raz, S. Chitransh, G. T. Smith, L. R. Weiss, M. H. Czyz, S. Yang, A. J. Fairhall, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, D. D. Awschalom, A. P. Alivisatos, R. H. Goldsmith, G. C. Schatz, M. C. Hersam, P. C. Maurer. A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit. 2026. doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.19976
Valley splitting correlations across a silicon quantum well containing germanium
J. C. Marcks, E. Eagen, E. C. Brann, M. P. Losert, T. Oh, J. Reily, C. S. Wang, D. Keith, F. A. Mohiyaddin, F. Luthi, M. J. Curry, J. Zhang, F. J. Heremans, M. Friesen, M. A. Eriksson. Valley Splitting Correlations Across a Silicon Quantum Well. 2025. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67325-z
Challenges and opportunities for quantum information hardware
D. D. Awschalom, H. Bernien, R. Hanson, W. D. Oliver, J. Vučković. Challenges and opportunities for quantum information hardware. 2025. Science. 10.1126/science.adz8659
High-throughput spin-bath characterization of spin defects in semiconductors
A. N. Poteshman, M. Onizhuk, C. Egerstrom, D. P. Mark, D. D. Awschalom, F. J. Heremans, G. Galli. High-throughput spin-bath characterization of spin defects in semiconductors. 2025. Physical Review Applied. 10.1103/p57x-8kk7
A high-resolution molecular spin-photon interface at telecommunication wavelengths
L. R. Weiss, G. T. Smith, R. A. Murphy, B. Golesorkhi, J. A. Méndez Méndez, P. Patel, J. Niklas, O. G. Poluektov, J. R. Long, D. D. Awschalom. A high-resolution molecular spin-photon interface at telecommunication wavelengths. 2025. Science. 10.1126/science.ady8677
A fluorescent-protein spin qubit
J.S. Feder, B. S. Soloway, S. Verma, Z. Z. Geng, S. Wang, B. Kifle, E. G. Riendeau, Y. Tsaturyan, L. R. Weiss, M. Xie, J. Huang, A. Esser-Kahn, L. Gagliardi, D. D. Awschalom, P. C. Maurer. A fluorescent-protein spin qubit. 2025. Nature. 10.1038/s41586-025-09417-w
Microstructural and preliminary optical and microwave characterization of erbium doped CaMoO4 thin films
I. Masiulionis, B. Y.X. Lin, S. Kumar Seth, G. D. Grant, W. L. Lindquist, S. Kim, J. Kim, A. Yanguas-Gil, J. W. Elam, J. Zhang, J. M. LeBeau, D. D. Awschalom, S. Guha. Microstructural and preliminary optical and microwave characterization of erbium doped CaMoO4 thin films. 2025. arXiv:2508.15122
Spin decoherence dynamics of Er3+ in CeO2 film
S. K. Seth, J. Nagura, V. Somjit, A. Bapat, X. Li, G. D. Grant, I. Masiulionis, X. Han, F. J. Heremans, G. Galli, D. D. Awschalom, S. Guha, J. Zhang. Spin decoherence dynamics of Er3+ in CeO2 film. 2025. arXiv:2508.12429
First-Principles Framework for the Prediction of Intersystem Crossing Rates in Spin Defects: The Role of Electron Correlation
Y. Jin, J. Park, M. M. McMillan, D. D. Ohm, C. Barnes, B. Pingault, C. Egerstrom, B. Huang, M. Govoni, F. J. Heremans, D. D. Awschalom, G. Galli. First-Principles Framework for the Prediction of Intersystem Crossing Rates in Spin Defects: The Role of Electron Correlation. 2025. Physical Review Letters. 10.1103/nw3r-zy8q
Emergent anisotropic three-phase order in critically doped superconducting diamond films
J. Dwivedi, J. Morris, S. Islam, K. D. Halanayake, G. A. Vazquez-Lizardi, D. Snyder, A. Richardella, L. Lyle, D. R. Hickey, N. Delegan, F. J. Heremans, D. D. Awschalom, N. Samarth. Emergent anisotropic three-phase order in critically doped superconducting diamond films. 2025. arXiv:2506.09925