Prize Recipient

Nathalie de Leon
Princeton University

"For substantial contributions to the field of experimental quantum information science with an emphasis on materials discovery and enhancement, and using materials to enable improved coherence across a wide range of physical platforms for quantum computing, sensing, and communication."

Nathalie de Leon received her BS from Stanford University in 2004 and PhD from Harvard University in 2011. She then worked as a CIQM and Element Six postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. Nathalie joined the faculty of Princeton University as an assistant professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2016, where she was later promoted to associate professor. She is currently the materials thrust leader of the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage, a DOE National Quantum Information Science Center. Her research focuses on building quantum technologies with solid state defects in diamond and other wide band gap materials and new material systems for superconducting qubits. Her group works at the interface of quantum optics, atomic physics, condensed matter and device physics, materials science, surface spectroscopy, nanofabrication, and spin physics to uncover sources of noise and loss in quantum systems, and uses these insights to design new quantum platforms. Nathalie received the Air Force Office for Scientific Research Young Investigator Award in 2016, the Sloan Research Fellowship in Physics in 2017, the NSF CAREER Award in 2018, the DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2018, and the DOE Early Career Award in 2018.