Research

Quantum Scholar’s journey into the future of computing

Charles Ferrer — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 14:04:31 +0000

Quantum Scholar’s journey into the future of computing Charles Ferrer Mon, 06/09/2025 - 08:04

Charles Ferrer

Dr. Andras Gyenis, assistant professor; Arjun Dalwadi, undergraduate researcher; and Pablo Aramburu Sanchez, graduate mentor, in the Gyenis Quantum Lab, which focuses on protected semi and superconducting qubits.

For most high school students, late-night scrolling on Instagram leads to memes or music clips.

But for Arjun Dalwadi, a rising third-year electrical and computer engineering student, it led down a different rabbit hole: quantum computing.

Quantum computers could solve complex problems in minutes that would take classical computers decades.

Dalwadi’s curiosity from that Instagram scroll has followed him in his quest to immerse himself in all things quantum.

“CU ��ý�� has been an incredible place to explore quantum and all it has to offer,” he said. “You’re surrounded by faculty members and students who want you to grow and give you the opportunity to contribute in real ways to the field.”

Like many incoming engineering students, he considered mechanical or aerospace engineering—fields with already visible, well-known career paths. However, Dalwadi soon realized that electrical and computer engineering could offer a broader foundation, touching everything from space exploration to digital security and quantum.

“Electrical and computer engineering have applications in every industry, including the very technologies that quantum systems depend on and the design and operation of quantum systems themselves.”

Building a quantum-ready workforce

Today, more than 3,000 Colorado workers are employed in the quantum workforce, supporting over 30 companies that span quantum sensing, networking and computing.

That movement is only gaining momentum, with job growth in quantum expected to reach 30,000 in the next decade in the Mountain West.

As the industry grows, so does the need for engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs trained in the challenges and opportunities that quantum presents.

“Quantum engineering is a rapidly growing field, so we need engineers and scientists with solid quantum knowledge to work in this area,” said András Gyenis, an assistant professor in electrical engineering and one of Dalwadi’s research mentors.

“Quantum is very different from classical physics,” Gyenis explained. “Getting used to the concepts and building intuition as early as possible is critical for students so that they can become part of a strong quantum-ready workforce.”

He believes that undergraduate research experience is one of the best ways to achieve that.

Pushing the boundaries in quantum research

Dalwadi loads a chip onto the "puck," which has the cavity necessary to support the quantum electrodynamic properties of the on-chip devices.

In fall 2024, Dalwadi joined Gyenis’s research group, which focuses on quantum hardware and the development of more stable, coherent quantum devices. The lab explores superconducting qubits—tiny circuits etched into a superconducting material that behave like an artificial atom. When multiple qubits are combined onto a chip, they can interact with each other and we can operate multi-qubit gates, creating a quantum processor.

“Our projects are at the intersection of quantum materials and quantum information science,” Gyenis said. “By improving how qubits behave and interact, we’re working toward systems that are not only powerful, but reliable enough for real-world use.”

Dalwadi is designing a new sample holder for testing superconducting qubits inside a dilution refrigerator—an advanced system that cools experiments down to just a few millikelvin, a thousand times colder than outer space, to allow the chip to become superconductive and protect the delicate quantum system from thermal noise.

“It’s such a wild environment,” Dalwadi said. “You’re working with temperatures near absolute zero to isolate these artificial atoms and preserve the quantum state.”

He compared a qubit’s sensitivity to a wiffle ball precariously balanced on top of a thin, tall pole, teetering and vulnerable to the slightest disturbance.

“The slightest gust of wind could knock the wiffle ball off, and it would be impossible to replace it on the pole in the exact position it was in before it was knocked off. That’s what happens if a qubit is uncontrollably perturbed by the environment—the quantum information is lost,” he explained.

Dalwadi dispatches the old sample holder from the dilution fridge to replace it with the new assembly.

This is why shielding qubits from environmental noise is so critical, especially from electromagnetic interference. Dalwadi noted that the operating frequencies of superconducting qubits are close to those of everyday wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and cellular networks, making them especially prone to unintended coupling with stray radio waves.

The new sample holder Dalwadi is developing addresses some of the limitations of the lab’s previous design. Notably, it allows researchers to test more devices in a single cooldown cycle—a process that can take days. With the ability to connect up to 12 signal lines, compared to just four in the old design, the updated holder can support multi-qubit chips.

“For example, one qubit might need a drive line, a readout line and a flux bias line—that’s already three lines,” Dalwadi said. “The new design allows us to pack more versatility into each experiment and examine more qubits per cooldown cycle.”

Dalwadi’s work spans RF engineering, printed circuit board (PCB) design, CAD modeling, precision manufacturing and collaboration with graduate students and postdocs to meet experimental needs with optimal performance in a robust, compact assembly.

“Arjun has done a fantastic job as an undergraduate researcher in my lab. He demonstrates exceptional independent problem-solving skills, learning new software skills and studying scientific papers,” Gyenis said. “Even when he saw certain engineering problems for the first time, he did his own research and kept going until he found the solution.”

Early research, big opportunities

Dalwadi’s research experience is made possible through CU Engineering’s Discovery Learning Apprenticeship (DLA) program, which allows undergraduates to gain meaningful research experience alongside faculty mentors.

“I never imagined I’d be contributing to actual quantum experiments this early,” Dalwadi said. “It’s made me more confident in the idea that I can have a career in quantum.”

And he’s not just focused on the hardware. In high school, he wrote an essay on the looming impact of quantum computing on encryption and cybersecurity, topics that are becoming more urgent as quantum processors grow in power.

“Our current internet security is predicated on problems that are near-impossible for classical computers to solve. RSA2048, for example, would take a classical computer trillions of years to break with a brute force attack,” he said. “But a 20-million-qubit quantum computer could theoretically crack RSA2048 in just eight hours. That’s unimaginable computational power.”

Quantum community and vision for the future

Dalwadi’s ongoing fascination with the quantum world led him to apply and join the Quantum Scholars, a program at CU ��ý�� that supports undergraduate students interested in quantum research and education.

Quantum is going to be everywhere—finance, pharma, energy and even weather forecasting. We need scientists and researchers who can bridge the gap between the theory and the real-world implementation.”

Arjun Dalwadi, electrical & computer engineering student

As a scholar, Dalwadi receives mentorship, professional development and monthly community events where students explore the real-world impact of quantum science. The program introduces scholars to mentors, alumni and industry professionals who are shaping the future of quantum. Hearing directly from researchers at Colorado-based startups who are front and center of quantum technologies is something that Dalwadi notes as invaluable.

“It’s been amazing to connect with other students and scientists who are just as excited about quantum,” he said. “You don’t feel like you’re exploring something niche or isolated. You’re part of an exciting scientific community.”

Looking ahead, Dalwadi hopes to pursue a PhD in quantum information science, focusing on hybrid classical-quantum systems.

One area he’s especially passionate about is quantum computing’s potential in drug discovery and molecular modeling, fields where classical computers often struggle to simulate the complex interactions between atoms and molecules. Quantum computing, he explained, could dramatically accelerate research timelines, therefore reducing the years needed for drug development and clinical trials.

“To me, it’s not just a computational leap, but it’s the potential to save lives and make healthcare more accessible,” Dalwadi said.

“Engineers work to solve problems and make life better for everyone. Quantum is just the next step in that mission. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for a world propelled by quantum technologies.”

Arjun Dalwadi, a third-year electrical and computer engineering student, is immersing himself in all things quantum through the Quantum Scholars program and as an undergraduate researcher in the Gyenis Lab. Dalwadi is on the journey to make an impact for quantum computing.

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As AI explosion threatens progress on climate change, these researchers are seeking solutions

Charles Ferrer — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 18:40:11 +0000

As AI explosion threatens progress on climate change, these researchers are seeking solutions Charles Ferrer Mon, 04/21/2025 - 12:40

Bri-Mathias Hodge, professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering and Kyri Baker, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, suggest that if future data centers are placed in the right location and equipped with energy storage technologies, they can run on 100 percent clean energy.

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Quantum technique could transform remote sensing, infrastructure monitoring

Charles Ferrer — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 19:14:11 +0000

Quantum technique could transform remote sensing, infrastructure monitoring Charles Ferrer Wed, 04/16/2025 - 13:14

Charles Ferrer

A team of CU ��ý�� researchers has introduced a quantum sensing technique that could lead to improvements in how we monitor infrastructure, detect changes in the environment and conduct geophysical studies.

Led by Juliet Gopinath, Alfred T. and Betty E. Look Endowed Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, and physics doctoral student Gregory Krueper, the team used a quantum mechanics technique known as cascaded phase sensing, which enables a single sensor to measure multiple variables with extraordinary precision.

Current sensors typically measure temperature, strain or vibrations at a single point, limiting their effectiveness for large-scale monitoring. The new technique published in Physical Review A employs pulses of “squeezed” light—a quantum state that reduces measurement uncertainty beyond classical limits—to collect data from multiple locations along a single optical path.

A new era of sensing technology

Graduate students Sara Moore and Greg Krueper with Professor Juliet Gopinath.

The team’s breakthrough stems from an unexpected challenge.

Optical fiber sensors, which are widely used for monitoring infrastructure and environmental changes, often lose more than 99% of their original probe light, making it seem impossible to integrate quantum techniques. However, Gopinath and the research group found inspiration in two key sources.

“Gravitational wave detectors have successfully used quantum-enhanced light to improve their sensitivity,” Krueper said. “At the same time, recent advancement in classical fiber sensing introduced a method to divide the fiber into separate regions with embedded reflectors. By combining these ideas, and by collecting both reflected and transmitted light, we were able to make a distributed fiber quantum sensor.”

Their approach sends a series of quantum-enhanced light pulses through an optical fiber, using strategically placed reflectors to divide the fiber into distinct measurement zones.

Unlike traditional sensors that measure only one variable at a time, this method allows a single fiber to simultaneously capture precise data from multiple locations.

“By leveraging quantum mechanics, our method enables simultaneous, high-precision measurements at different points along a single sensor,” Gopinath said. “This could greatly improve applications like infrastructure integrity monitoring and environmental sensing.”

While the results are promising, a major hurdle remains: the quantum light source.

Current setups are large and costly. The next step for their research is to develop a portable, chip-based version of the light source, similar to the photonic technology found in modern smartphones. This advancement would pave the way for practical quantum sensors that can be used in the field.

Applications in environmental, geophysical sensing and infrastructure monitoring

Monitoring infrastructure—such as bridges, tunnels and pipelines—currently relies on traditional sensors placed at specific points to track structural health. These methods can be limited in scope and fail to provide a real-time, comprehensive view of an entire structure.

Cascaded phase sensing, as this project explored, addressed this gap by allowing a single optical fiber-based sensor to monitor multiple locations along its length with extreme precision. This continuous, high-resolution data collection could detect tiny vibrations or structural instabilities in real time.

Such advancements would allow engineers to proactively address maintenance needs, prevent failures and extend the lifespan of critical infrastructure, ultimately improving public safety and reducing costs.

The technique also has implications for environmental monitoring and geophysical studies. By placing sensors in natural settings, researchers could track subtle changes in temperature, pressure or seismic activity with unprecedented accuracy. This could improve early detection of earthquakes, monitor groundwater movement or study underground structures without invasive drilling.

According to Gopinath, this work represents a new paradigm for quantum sensing that could start an entire field of study.

“Many practical opportunities present themselves, ranging from neuroscience to seismic studies to energy infrastructure,” Gopinath said. “The work can provide a powerful method for sensitive remote sensing using quantum light and optical fibers.”

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An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time

Charles Ferrer — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:24:53 +0000

An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time Charles Ferrer Thu, 04/03/2025 - 18:24

New CU ��ý�� research harnesses the power of an ultrafast microscope to study molecular movement in space and time.

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Dall'Anese earns IEEE Best Paper Award 2023 tackling online optimization

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Dall'Anese earns IEEE Best Paper Award 2023 tackling online optimization Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/14/2023 - 00:00

Charles Ferrer

How can online feedback optimization inform traffic flows for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics?

Associate Professor Emiliano Dall’Anese and his research group examined that concept for a paper that recently won the prestigious ‘Best Paper Award’ in the IEEE journal Transactions on Control of Network Systems.

The paper, “Time-Varying Optimization of LTI Systems Via Projected Primal-Dual Gradient Flows,” coauthored with Gianluca Bianchin, Jorge Cortés and Jorge Poveda, was selected for its originality, potential impact on the foundations of network systems and practical significance in applications.

“I'm very thankful to our former postdoc Gianluca and our collaborators for the time and efforts put in developing the framework presented in this paper. More broadly, I am thankful to our PhD students and collaborators that have contributed in developing theory and tools in the areas of online feedback optimization and data-driven optimization throughout the years,” said Dall’Anese. “It was definitely a team achievement.”

Dall’Anese’s research focuses on the intersection of optimization, learning and control in complex network systems. Current application domains for his research include power and energy systems and cyber-physical systems.

Applications Across Areas

“Our paper contributes positively for new tools and methods in the context of controls for complex and autonomous systems,” said Dall’Anese, “and if I were to go one step further, contributes in AI for infrastructures and cyber-physical systems.”

The mathematical framework behind this paper is centered on online feedback optimization — a topic his research group pioneered over the past 10 years. In this paper, the research group examined the Los Angeles highway system and used their framework to model traffic in hopes of lessening congestion ahead of the city’s 2028 Summer Olympics. Their outputs showed that during some parts of the day, the tools they developed significantly outperformed existing techniques.

Online feedback optimization has contributed tools in other application areas.

“Of course, the math needs to be customized, but it’s also applicable to problems in power systems, robotic systems and control of epidemics,” said Dall’Anese. “We have shown how to apply our tools in these areas such as power systems and autonomous systems in other publications.”

A Personal Accomplishment

Upon learning of this award-winning paper, the first thing Dall’Anese did was call his parents back in Italy, letting them know all their sacrifices they made in the past were being rewarded right now.

“My family struggled financially for many years,” he said. “I'm always thankful to the support that my parents provided through the years for myself and my sister.”

Some words of wisdom Dall’Anese hope to instill from this accomplishment, especially being a first-generation college student is, “anybody can be sitting here at my desk with some perseverance, hard-working and the valuable guidance of their research advisors. Anybody can make it.”

What Lies Ahead

His research group has been working on extensions of the paper’s mathematical concepts to systems in which safety needs to be prioritized — such as power grids or autonomous vehicles.

“You don’t want these vehicles to cross highway lanes. This brings together several core areas, namely optimization, machine learning and engineering,” said Dall’Anese.

In power systems, ensuring grids are tightly regulated within a given operating region is critical. Otherwise, cascading failures or disrupted service could occur without proper safety controls.

Prior to joining the ��ý��, Dall’Anese was a senior scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory creating an impact in the world of sustainable power energy systems. His latest paper is coming full circle with his research motivation.

“When looking at power and energy systems, our work’s grand goal right now is to resolve climate change issues and enable sustainability and resilience in our current power infrastructure,” Dall’Anese said.

Photo: Emiliano Dall’Anese (Credit: Jesse Peterson)

About the IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems

The IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems publishes peer-reviewed papers at the intersection of control systems and network science. Topics covered by this journal include collaborative control, distributed learning, multi-agent systems, distributed optimization, control of collective behavior, large-scale complex systems and control with communication constraints.

Learn More About the Award

Associate Professor Emiliano Dall’Anese and his research group examined online feedback optimization for a paper that recently won the prestigious ‘Best Paper Award’ in the IEEE journal Transactions on Control of Network Systems.

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Researchers to test Einstein's predictions of general relativity atop Rocky Mountains

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Researchers to test Einstein's predictions of general relativity atop Rocky Mountains Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/01/2023 - 00:00

Charles Ferrer

This perspective provides how the mobile optical clock atop Mt. Blue Sky will communicate with the transfer node in Broomfield, Colo. and connect with a reference optical clock in ��ý��.

Imagine being able to measure tiny changes in the flow of time caused by Earth’s gravity with atomic clocks atop one of Colorado’s iconic peaks above 14,000 feet.

That could soon be a reality thanks to a $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation that will advance geodesy — the study of accurately measuring Earth’s geometric shape, orientation in space and gravity field — through the use of quantum sensors, some of the most precise in the world.

Scott Diddams, professor in CU ��ý��’s Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering (ECEE), is collaborating on this four-year, multi-agency effort with physicists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). To further get students involved, Diddams aims to bring undergraduate and graduate researchers in on the endeavor.

“Our vision is to take the best quantum science from the lab and translate it out to the world,” said Diddams. “It’s going to be an important activity for the university and field to show how optical clocks can impact the field of geodesy.”

Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity states that time evolves more slowly under the influence of gravity known as the gravitational redshift. Essentially, a clock at higher elevations will tick at a faster rate than ones closer to the Earth.

Diddams and the research group are developing a portable hyper-accurate optical atomic clock, which will be the most advanced quantum sensor of time to operate at such a high elevation.

Andrew Ludlow, an adjoint professor with ECEE and the NIST physicist building the ytterbium optical clocks used in the project, noted, “if you can measure time extremely well with these atomic clocks, you can look for tiny signals that are signatures of interesting new phenomena in physics.”

“We're also constantly improving our time standards to support the measurement of evolving technologies in industry and science,” he added.

While there have been other efforts around the world to replicate similar aspects of this project, this one will take place at one of the most elevated locations in the United States - an exciting feat for the research community.

Mount Blue Sky, nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, is home to the highest paved road in North America peaking at 14,264 feet. This will allow the team to transport an optical atomic clock up the summit to measure geopotential differences corresponding to one centimeter changes in elevation.

If successful, these measurements could open up new realms of how we use quantum and atomic physics for areas in hydrology, seismology, coastal mapping and geodetic surveying.

The research team will first test these clocks at lower elevations before taking them ultimately up 14,000 feet in summer 2025.

We sat down with Professor Scott Diddams for a deep dive into the ambitious project.

What does your project entail with this new NSF grant?

Our project is really focused on using the best optical clocks — the most precise measurement tools ever made — to measure gravity. We think of the Earth as being just a sphere, but there’s actually significant variation in the Earth’s shape on large and small scales. Our plan is to use our clocks to measure those gravitational changes very precisely due to those features at different elevations.

How will you achieve this?

We're going to take one clock to the top of Mount Blue Sky and compare it to a local atomic clock in ��ý��, Colo. This will be done via a laser link that transmits the clock’s rate over a laser beam through the air from Mount Blue Sky down to the Denver metro area. A challenge is that you don’t have a clear light of sight to ��ý��, so we’ll have to go to a location — about 10 miles away — near the Broomfield area for that. We’ll use an optical fiber to connect from that location back to the reference clock at NIST.

What do you hope these atomic optical clocks will prove?

When we compare their rates with the two clocks, we should see the one on the top of Mount Blue Sky ticking faster. By measuring the difference in the tick rates, we hope to make the most accurate test Einstein's predictions of general relativity.

How can we relate this to everyday life?

One thing that absolutely knows gravity is water, and water will flow to the lowest gravitational potential. And so in large coastal areas, determining elevation and the flow of water at the centimeter or a few centimeters level is quite important, particularly with climate change and rising sea levels. So our project will build a connection from very fundamental quantum science to a whole new area in geodesy and surveying as we know it. This is not a topic that you would initially think is connected to quantum physics.

What makes Colorado’s Rocky Mountains uniquely fitting for this project?

We have this tremendous difference in elevation — or “relief,” in topographic terms — over a relatively short distance. There is around 9,000 feet of relief from Denver to Mount Blue Sky over a span of less than 50 miles, which we can use as leverage in the relative precision of our measurement. If we can measure the effect of that difference at the centimeter level, we stand to make the most precise measurement of the gravitational redshift. So that's pretty unique to Colorado.

What excites you about the collaboration with NIST & NOAA?

This is a very unique team, and even more so that we are all here in ��ý��. We have world experts in all the areas that are needed to make the project successful like being able to develop portable atomic optical clocks (Andrew Ludlow) and synchronize these clocks from the top of mountains down to the city (Laura Sinclair). We’ll also have a leading expert in geodesy (Derek van Westrum) who has actually already surveyed benchmarks in our labs with millimeter-level precision.

Would you say this will be the highest altitude experiment you’ve ever conducted so far?

This probably will be the highest altitude experiment of its kind in the world. I have done short-term experiments with frequency combs on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, but that's 13,800 feet above sea level. I've never had an experiment at 14,000 feet yet, which makes this pretty unique. We're going to have to learn to efficiently work and operate the clock over extended periods in that high-altitude environment, as well.

Atomic Optical Clock Image Credit: Jesse Petersen

CU ��ý�� researchers will test general relativity atop Mt. Blue Sky and advance geodesy through the use of quantum sensors, some of the most precise in the world.

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An infrared telescope that spans the globe? New grant may make it possible

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 14:28:12 +0000

An infrared telescope that spans the globe? New grant may make it possible Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/25/2023 - 08:28

Physicists and engineers at CU ��ý�� envision infrared astronomy telescopes that may one day span the entire globe. That ambition is part of a new project led by Scott Diddams, professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering, and funded by a $1 million award from the W.M. Keck Foundation.

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CU ��ý�� earns $5 million award for 5G cellular security research

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 17:39:09 +0000

CU ��ý�� earns $5 million award for 5G cellular security research Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/22/2023 - 11:39

Two ECEE faculty members, Eric Keller and Tamara Lehman, are part of a research group leading a major military-oriented project for 5G wireless security.

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New $25-million center to advance quantum science and engineering

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 06:00:00 +0000

New $25-million center to advance quantum science and engineering Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/21/2020 - 00:00

Several ECEE faculty members will play key roles in the new Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering (Q-SEnSE) center.

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Popovic plays lead role in breakthrough light-based microprocessor chip

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 18:34:17 +0000

Popovic plays lead role in breakthrough light-based microprocessor chip Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/28/2015 - 11:34

Groundbreaking microprocessor chip uses light, rather than electricity, to transfer data at rapid speeds while consuming minute amounts of energy. The researchers also anticipate that the new technology can be integrated into current manufacturing processes smoothly and scaled up for commercial production with minimal disruption.

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Research

Quantum Scholar’s journey into the future of computing

Building a quantum-ready workforce

Pushing the boundaries in quantum research

Early research, big opportunities

Quantum community and vision for the future

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As AI explosion threatens progress on climate change, these researchers are seeking solutions

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Quantum technique could transform remote sensing, infrastructure monitoring

A new era of sensing technology

Applications in environmental, geophysical sensing and infrastructure monitoring

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An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time

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Dall'Anese earns IEEE Best Paper Award 2023 tackling online optimization

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Researchers to test Einstein's predictions of general relativity atop Rocky Mountains

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An infrared telescope that spans the globe? New grant may make it possible

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CU ������ý���� earns $5 million award for 5G cellular security research

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New $25-million center to advance quantum science and engineering

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Popovic plays lead role in breakthrough light-based microprocessor chip

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CU ��ý�� earns $5 million award for 5G cellular security research