Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative (EPI) Award

Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative (EPI) Award is sponsored by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative (EPI) Award supports experimental physics research, which can include projects in quantum computing and quantum architecture.

Advancing discovery: 2025 Experimental Physics Investigators Former-foundation president, Harvey Fineberg, and chairman emeritus and co-founder, Gordon Moore, discuss the Statement of Founders’ Intent with staff.

Environmental Conservation Conservation and Markets Initiative Wildfire Resilience Initiative Curiosity-Driven Science Initiative Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative Green Chemistry Initiative Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative Advancing discovery: 2025 Experimental Physics Investigators 2025 Experimental Physics Investigators The 2025 cohort of Experimental Physics Investigators is a distinguished group of mid-career researchers pushing the boundaries of experimental physics.

These 22 new investigators are joining the scientists from three previous cohorts in advancing the frontier of fundamental research in experimental physics. Regarding the magnitude and size of the award, 2024 investigator Shimon Kolkowitz remarked, “this is exactly what we needed to attempt our complex experiments, and it is especially important given the current uncertainties in federal funding in the United States.

” The Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative provides $1. 3 million over five years to give these scientists flexibility to accelerate breakthroughs and strengthen the experimental physics community. “We once again received proposals from amazing mid-career investigators who are taking their research to new levels,” said Theodore Hodapp, program director for the initiative.

“We are excited to see them join our existing cohorts of experimental physicists who are pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the universe. ” Among this year’s investigators are: Howard Lee from University of California, Irvine who is building the first nanoscale accelerator capable of producing high-energy electrons, with applications in plasma and particle physics as well as biomedcine.

Jaideep Taggart Singh from the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University who is developing an experimental platform to search for time-reversal-violating forces, potentially explaining why the universe contains more matter than antimatter.

Adina Luican-Mayer from University of Illinois Chicago who is studying moiré-induced polarization in atomically thin materials, work that could uncover new phases of matter and enable ultra-compact, energy-efficient electronics. Cultivating collaborative research environments that welcome all students and promote highly effective research teams is a goal of the initiative. Awardees pursue this goal in different ways.

For example, Professor Singh will use part of the funding to design unique trainings for students at the intersection of different disciplines including atomic, molecular, optical and nuclear physics. “To connect investigators and promote the discovery of new ideas and synergistic collaborations, we bring all cohorts together each year in an informal setting,” remarked Catherine Mader, program officer for the initiative.

“We have seen numerous new connections form and new research directions pursued by both individuals and groups based on conversations at these gatherings.

” Meet the 2025 Experimental Physics Investigators Justin Caram , University of California Los Angeles Daniel Carney , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Jiun-Haw Chu , University of Washington, Seattle Riccardo Comin , Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bryce Gadway , Pennsylvania State University Jeffrey Guasto , Tufts University Chen-Lung Hung , Purdue University Gyu-Boong Jo , Rice University Ben Jones , University of Texas Arlington Jason Kawasaki , University of Wisconsin Thomas Kempa , Johns Hopkins University Howard (Ho Wai) Lee , University of California Irvine Adina Luican-Mayer , University of Illinois Chicago David Patterson , University of California Santa Barbara Johannes Pollanen , Michigan State University Brad Ramshaw , Cornell University Alban Sauret , University of Maryland John Schaibley , University of Arizona Sufei Shi , Carnegie Mellon University Jaideep Singh , Michigan State University Sebastian Streichan , University of California Santa Barbara Andrea Young , University of California Santa Barbara Experimental Physics Invesitgators If you know someone who is interested in this field or what we are doing at the foundation, pass it along.

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Michigan State University, Department of Physics and Astronomy Circuit Quantum Optics with Electrons on Helium Pennsylvania State University, Department of Physics Reservoir Engineering in Multi-Species Rydberg Arrays University of California, Berkeley Department of Physics Quantum Measurements of the Neutrino Sector University of Texas at Arlington, Department of Physics Single Molecule Photochemical Sensing for the Discovery of Neutrino-less Double Electron Capture Processes University of California, Los Angeles Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Atomic Physics in a Beaker Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy Engineering an Open Quantum System with Non-Hermiticity and Dissipation Purdue University, Department of Physics and Astronomy Building Hybrid Quantum Matter with Integrated Neutral Atom Arrays and Photonic Crystals Michigan State University, Department of Physics and Astronomy Towards a Search for the Origin of Visible Matter Using Heavy Rare Pear-Shaped Atomic Nuclei University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Physics University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Physics Spectroscopy, Thermodynamics, and Thermal Transport of Superconductors in Multilayer Rhombohedral Graphene Tufts University, Department of Mechanical Engineering Lagrangian Transport in Active Matter Flows University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Materials Science and Engineering Strain Induced Topological Superconductivity and Magnetism in Heusler Membranes Johns Hopkins University, Department of Chemistry Tuning Quantum Light by Merging Molecular Lattices with 2D Materials University of California, Irvine Department of Physics and Astronomy Nanoscale Laser Accelerator with Optical Metasurfaces and Zero-Index Materials University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Physics Parity Violation Measurement in Single Molecules University of Maryland, Department of Mechanical Engineering Towards Mechanistic Modeling of Rain-Driven Mudflows on Wildfire-burned Soils Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Physics Interfacial MAGnetoElectrics (I-MAGinE) Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Physics Synthesizing Arrays of Strongly Correlated Two-Dimensional Excitons for Quantum Simulations Cornell University, Department of Physics New Tools for Measuring Superconducting Gaps University of Arizona, Department of Physics Engineering Quantum States in Artificial Crystals University of Washington, Department of Physics Probing and Controlling Unconventional Electronic Order with Multi-Component Strain Fields University of Illinois Chicago, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering A New Paradigm of Polar Materials – Moiré Ferroelectricity Circuit Quantum Optics with Electrons on Helium Reservoir Engineering in Multi-Species Rydberg Arrays Quantum Measurements of the Neutrino Sector Single Molecule Photochemical Sensing for the Discovery of Neutrino-less Double Electron Capture Processes Atomic Physics in a Beaker Engineering an Open Quantum System with Non-Hermiticity and Dissipation Building Hybrid Quantum Matter with Integrated Neutral Atom Arrays and Photonic Crystals Towards a Search for the Origin of Visible Matter Using Heavy Rare Pear-Shaped Atomic Nuclei Spectroscopy, Thermodynamics, and Thermal Transport of Superconductors in Multilayer Rhombohedral Graphene Lagrangian Transport in Active Matter Flows Strain Induced Topological Superconductivity and Magnetism in Heusler Membranes Tuning Quantum Light by Merging Molecular Lattices with 2D Materials Nanoscale Laser Accelerator with Optical Metasurfaces and Zero-Index Materials Parity Violation Measurement in Single Molecules Towards Mechanistic Modeling of Rain-Driven Mudflows on Wildfire-burned Soils Interfacial MAGnetoElectrics (I-MAGinE) Synthesizing Arrays of Strongly Correlated Two-Dimensional Excitons for Quantum Simulations New Tools for Measuring Superconducting Gaps Engineering Quantum States in Artificial Crystals Probing and Controlling Unconventional Electronic Order with Multi-Component Strain Fields A New Paradigm of Polar Materials – Moiré Ferroelectricity