Peter Maurer Molecular Engineering
Papers from NSF QuBBE
T.-X. Zheng, M.I. Bakti Utama, X. Gao, M. Kar, X. Yu, S. Kang, H. Cai, T. Ruan, D. Ovetsky, U. Zvi, G. Lao, Y.-X. 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, and P.C. Maurer, "A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit", arXiv:2601.19976 (2026)
X. Yu, E.J. Villafranca, S. Wang, J.C. Jones, M. Xie, J. Nagura, I. Chi-Durán, N. Delegan, A.B.F. Martinson, M.E. Flatté, D.R. Candido, G. Galli, and P.C. Maurer, "Engineering Diamond Interfaces Free of Dark Spins", Phys Rev Applied 25 034006 (2026)
U. Zvi, S. Mundhra, D. Ovetsky, Q. Chen, A.R. Jones, S. Wang, M. Roman, M. Ferro, K. Odunsi, M.C. Garassino, M.E. Flatte', M. Swartz, D.R. Candido, A. Esser-Kahn, and P.C. Maurer, "Probing Cellular Activity Via Charge-Sensitive Quantum Nanoprobes", Advanced Materials e05107 (2025)
U. Zvi, S. Mundhra, D. Ovetsky, Q. Chen, A.R. Jones, S. Wang, M. Roman, M. Ferro, K. Odunsi, M.C. Garassino, M.E. Flatte', M. Swartz, D.R. Candido, A. Esser-Kahn, and P.C. Maurer, "Probing Cellular Activity Via Charge-Sensitive Quantum Nanoprobes", arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.20816 (2025)
U. Zvi, D.R. Candido, A.M. Weiss, A.R. Jones, L. Chen, I. Golovina, X. Yu, S. Wang, D.V. Talapin, M.E. Flatte, A.P. Esser-Kahn, and P.C. Maurer, "Engineering Spin Coherence in Core-Shell Diamond Nanocrystals", Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122 e2422542122 (2025)
X. Yu, E.J. Villafranca, S. Wang, J.C. Jones, M. Xie, J. Nagura, I. Chi-Durán, N. Delegan, A.B.F. Martinson, M.E. Flatté, D.R. Candido, G. Galli, and P.C. Maurer, "Engineering Diamond Interfaces Free of Dark Spins", arXiv:2504.08883 (2025)
J.S. Feder, B.S. Soloway, S. Verma, Z.Z. Geng, S. Wang, B.B. Kifle, E.G. Riendeau, Y. Tsaturyan, L.R. Weiss, M. Xie, J. Huang, A. Esser-Kahn, L. Gagliardi, D.D. Awschalom, and P.C. Maurer, "A Fluorescent-Protein Spin Qubit", Nature 645 73-79 (2025)
I. Chi-Durán, E.J. Villafranca, D. Dang, R. Rosiles, C.T. Cheung, Z. Zhang, J.P. Cleveland, and P.C. Maurer, "Quantum Biosensing on a Multiplexed Functionalized Diamond Microarray", arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.13193 (2025)
T.-X. Zheng, A. Li, J. Rosen, S. Zhou, M. Koppenhöfer, Z. Ma, F.T. Chong, A.A. Clerk, L. Jiang, and P.C. Maurer, "Author Correction: Preparation of Metrological States in Dipolar-Interacting Spin Systems", npj Quantum Inf. 10 47 (2024)
X. Guo, M. Xie, A. Addhya, A. Linder, U. Zvi, S. Wang, X. Yu, T.D. Deshmukh, Y. Liu, I.N. Hammock, Z. Li, C.T. DeVault, A. Butcher, A.P. Esser-Kahn, D.D. Awschalom, N. Delegan, P.C. Maurer, F.J. Heremans, and A.A. High, "Direct-Bonded Diamond Membranes for Heterogeneous Quantum and Electronic Technologies", Nat Commun 15 8788 (2024)
J.S. Feder, B.S. Soloway, S. Verma, Z.Z. Geng, S. Wang, B.B. Kifle, E.G. Riendeau, Y. Tsaturyan, L.R. Weiss, M. Xie, J. Huang, A. Esser-Kahn, L. Gagliardi, D.D. Awschalom, and P.C. Maurer, "A Fluorescent-Protein Spin Qubit", arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.16835 (2024)
U. Zvi, D.R. Candido, A. Weiss, A.R. Jones, L. Chen, I. Golovina, X. Yu, S. Wang, D.V. Talapin, M.E. Flatté, A.P. Esser-Kahn, and P.C. Maurer, "Engineering Spin Coherence in Core-Shell Diamond Nanocrystals", arXiv:2305.03075 (2023)
P. Maurer, U. Zvi, D. Candido, A. Weiss, A. Jones, L. Chen, X. Yu, S. Wang, D. Talapin, and M.E. Flatté, "Engineering Spin Coherence in Core-Shell Diamond Nanocrystals", (2023)
D. Candido, U. Zvi, P. Maurer, and M. Flatté, "Enhancement of Nv-Center Coherence Times Via Suppression of the Surface Noise in Coated Nanodiamonds", APS March Meeting Abstracts 2023 D70. 008 (2023)
U. Zvi, A. Jones, A. Weiss, P. Maurer, and A. Esser-Kahn, "Core-Shell Architecture for Engineered Biocompatible Quantum Nanoprobes", APS March Meeting Abstracts 2022 N00. 349 (2022)
T.X. Zheng, A.R. Li, J. Rosen, S.S. Zhou, M. Koppenhoefer, Z.Q. Ma, F.T. Chong, A.A. Clerk, L. Jiang, and P.C. Maurer, "Preparation of Metrological States in Dipolar-Interacting Spin Systems", Npj Quantum Information 8 150 (2022)
M. Xie, X. Yu, L.V.H. Rodgers, D. Xu, I. Chi-Duran, A. Toros, N. Quack, N.P. de Leon, and P.C. Maurer, "Biocompatible Surface Functionalization Architecture for a Diamond Quantum Sensor", Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119 e2114186119 (2022)
News from NSF QuBBE
Falling Walls Breakthrough of the Year 9/9/2026
Congratulations to David Awschalom on winning the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year in Physical Sciences for his work turning molecules and proteins into qubits, including the fluorescent-protein spin qubit developed with Peter Maurer.
NSF CAREER Award 8/10/2026
Congratulations to Peter Maurer on receiving an NSF CAREER award to bring biological qubits to the single-molecule realm by tackling photobleaching and readout fidelity.
Paper Published 8/3/2026
Peter Maurer and Aaron Esser-Kahn have published new work in Advanced Materials showing that shifts in nanodiamond qubit resonances, long attributed to heat from cellular activity, instead arise from a surface charge effect - opening a new route to taking a cell's vital signs. Read the PME story.
Quantum Horizons Conference 6/29/2026
Allison Squires and Peter Maurer present NSF QuBBE quantum sensing research at Quantum Horizons, a UChicago PME and Argonne conference that drew 265 attendees from 118 institutions to Chicago.
Sloan Research Fellowship 2/17/2026
Congratulations to Peter Maurer on being named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow.
Big Brains Podcast 1/8/2026
Peter Maurer discusses the protein qubit and the future of quantum biosensing on the Big Brains podcast.
Physics Breakthrough 12/11/2025
Peter Maurer, David Awschalom, Laura Gagliardi, and Aaron Esser-Kahn's research on fluorescent-protein spin qubits has been named one of the top 10 physics breakthroughs of 2025.
In the news... 9/12/2025
The fluorescent-protein spin qubit from Peter Maurer's and David Awschalom's groups is featured in Science News, following coverage by Phys.org and The Quantum Insider.
Paper Published 8/20/2025
Peter Maurer, David Awschalom, Laura Gagliardi, and Aaron Esser-Kahn have published the first fluorescent-protein spin qubit in Nature, turning a protein that cells can build themselves into a quantum sensor. Read the PME story.
Sabbatical at UChicago 6/30/2025
Valerie Goss completes her Sabbatical at UChicago working in Peter Maurers Laboratory
Paper Published 5/22/2025
Peter Maurer and Aaron Esser-Kahn, with collaborators, have published in PNAS a core-shell nanodiamond quantum biosensor, inspired by QLED televisions, that improves the quantum properties of nanodiamond sensors inside living cells.
In the news... 10/28/2024
Work from Alex High, Peter Maurer, Aaron Esser-Kahn, David Awschalom, and Joe Heremans on bonding diamond membranes directly to other materials for quantum sensing and electronics is featured in UChicago News.
Sabbatical at UChicago 8/1/2024
Valerie Goss starts her Sabbatical at UChicago working in Peter Maurers Laboratory
CZI BioHub Chicago 7/10/2024
CZ Biohub Chicago funds NSF QuBBE investigators, including Aaron Esser-Kahn, Peter Maurer, and Alex Pearson for quantum-enabled identifiers to track individual immune cells; Samantha Riesenfeld and Allison Squires for inflammatory biomarker detection; and Margaret Gardel for characterizing inflammatory responses.
12/2/2022
Greg Engel, Valerie Goss, and Peter Maurer presented at the National Quantum Initiative Center Summit at the White House to focus on building the country's capabilities and workforce in Quantum Science and Engineering.
PQE Conference 1/13/2022
Peter Maurer is presenting a talk on NSF QuBBE at PQE 2022 in Snowbird, Utah.
Site Visit 4/28/2021
Greg Engel, Valerie Goss, Allison Squires and Peter Maurer participated in the NSF virtual reverse site visit exploring the details of NSF QuBBE.