Dafei Jin, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, is one of 21 researchers who received grants from the 2026 Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative.
Jin will join experimental physicists from the previous four cohorts in advancing the frontiers of fundamental research, according to the foundation.
Jin, who is affiliated with the Stavropoulos Center for Complex Quantum Matter and has led pioneering research on quantum bits (qubits), aims to develop a new platform for long-distance quantum information exchange. His team plans to trap single barium ions atop atomically thin solid helium, adhered to the surface of a nanofabricated device. Jin will manipulate their optical transitions as the environment shifts from vacuum to superfluid helium, then to solid helium. He will also investigate microwave control and optical readout of ions’ internal states, as well as their coupling to superconducting circuits.
“I’m very excited about the opportunities this award offers,” said Jin, who is also a concurrent associate professor in the Notre Dame College of Engineering. “First, I can work on a high-risk, high-reward project that can open new directions in quantum physics and potentially transform the frontier of quantum technologies.”
“Second, I can exchange ideas and seek collaborations with leading scientists in the cohorts that the Moore Foundation has been establishing.”
The Experimental Physics Investigator Initiative now has nearly 100 investigators at work since it started in 2022, and has already seen a range of bold, original science that the Moore Foundation hoped to make possible, said Theodore Hodapp, program director for the foundation’s initiative.
“From the start, our aim has been to accelerate progress at the frontier of experimental physics by giving brilliant mid-career scientists the kind of flexible, sustained support that federal grants rarely can,” he said in the foundation announcement. “That freedom lets them take on risky, high-reward experiments and follow ideas when research results lead them down new pathways.”
The Moore Foundation’s initiative provides each of this year’s 21 scientists with $1.35 million over five years, providing flexibility to accelerate physics research.
Jin’s previous work focused on manipulating quantum information locally by trapping single electrons on an ultraclean material, frozen neon, which is 10 to 10,000 times quieter than traditional materials for hosting qubits. However, single electrons do not provide convenient channels for transmitting quantum information over long distances. For his new project, Jin will focus on single ions, which will allow quantum information to be encoded in light (visible or infrared photons) and carried over hundreds of miles.
While his previous work mainly advanced quantum computing, Jin’s new research aims to advance quantum networking, leveraging the ultraclean materials he specializes in. This would allow remotely separated quantum computers to connect and form quantum networks capable of tasks beyond what classical networks can do.
“It is inspiring to witness the development of new scientific discoveries brought about by these awards,” Catherine Mader, program officer for the Initiative, said in the foundation announcement.
Originally published by at science.nd.edu on October 01, 2026.