UNM graduate student awarded prestigious DOE research fellowship

A graduate student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of New Mexico has received a prestigious fellowship from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program.

Amilcar Jeronimo Perez, a Ph.D. student studying experimental quantum optics, was selected for the highly competitive fellowship, which supports graduate students conducting part of their doctoral research at a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory. Perez will spend the next year at Oak Ridge National Laboratory working on a project titled "Synthesis and Spectroscopic Measurements of Stoichiometric Rare-Earth Crystals."

The fellowship will allow Perez to collaborate with scientists at Oak Ridge national laboratories while gaining access to specialized equipment and research facilities not currently available at UNM.

"It allows me to gain experience working with scientists from a national lab, as well as have access to technology not immediately available here at UNM," Perez said. "With this fellowship I also have the opportunity to network and collaborate with students and scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The DOE recognizes that the proposed project has the potential to advance future research in this area."

Perez said the recognition reinforces the value of his education and growing research experience at UNM.

"These educational benefits as well the potential positive impact this research project can have in future sensing technologies, gives me a sense of purpose and it motivates me to become a strong research scientist." he said.

His research explores fundamental questions surrounding precision measurement and spectroscopy using solid-state color centers and rare-earth crystals. The work could eventually contribute to advances in quantum sensing, quantum memory systems and even the search for new particle physics.

Stoichiometric rare-earth crystals are highly ordered materials in which the same rare-earth isotope occupies every lattice site in the crystal. Because of their structure, researchers believe the materials could enable exceptionally precise optical and spin-based measurements.

Working alongside Oak Ridge national lab researcher Josh Damron and his team, Perez will help design, synthesize and study a new class of rare-earth crystals based on trivalent europium ions, known as Eu3+ crystals.

"My current research at UNM focuses on quantum sensing with nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond," Perez explained. "Essentially we use the properties of atomic defects in diamond, such as their spin, to detect external magnetic fields from their environment."

He said the technique already has promising applications, including detecting extremely small magnetic fields down to the level of a femtotesla, similar to those produced by the human brain or heart.

"With my proposed fellowship project, we would like to extend this sensing method to other systems, such as rare-earth crystals," Perez said. "Rare-earth crystals have other physical properties that can in principle achieve better sensitivity limit than NV centers in diamond. "

Perez said improvements in current methods of precision measurement, can lead to new progress in scientific discoveries.

"A very sensitive magnetometer can be used to detect or image extremely small signals, such as that from the human brain or from new particles not predicted by the standard model of particle physics," he said. "Measuring very small signals with great precision can allow us to learn and make further scientific discoveries."

In addition to advancing his research, Perez said he is looking forward to the experience of living and working in Tennessee.

"I can't wait to start learning more and working on this new project," he said. "Besides doing research, I enjoy hiking, cooking, meeting new people and working out, so during my time at Oak Ridge I'm hoping to make some new friends and maybe check out the Great Smoky Mountains."

Perez also emphasized the value of collaboration with scientists at a national laboratory.

"Our collaborator Josh Damron at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has experience working with rare-earth crystals that we are hoping to learn from," he said. "Working at Oak Ridge national laboratories gives us access to instruments like x-ray diffractometers, which can be used to measure crystal structures."

The SCGSR Fellowship is one of the nation's premier awards for graduate students pursuing advanced research in areas relevant to the Department of Energy mission.

Previous UNM Department of Physics and Astronomy students to receive the fellowship include Aidan Grummer and Neil McFadden in 2018, Alexandre Mills in 2020, Kylar Greene in 2023, and Josef Sorenson and Andrew Gentry in 2024.

For students considering a future in physics research, Perez encourages them to stay curious and motivated.

"I would say to follow your scientific curiosity and understand what matters the most to you," he said. "Learning takes time, but if you have the will and motivation to do the work, then essentially everything is possible!"