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Novikova stands in front of the new atom-based electric field sensor for plasmas and charge particles. Courtesy photo.

WILLIAMSBURG Irina Novikova, a professor in William & Marys Department of Physics, has been named a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS).

Founded in 1899, the APS is a nonprofit professional organization of approximately 53,000 physicists from academia, industry and national laboratories. Elevation to fellowship is in recognition of exceptional contributions to the field of physics, according to a report in W&M News.

Novikova is the eighth current member of the W&M physics department to become an APS Fellow.

Irina Novikova and her research group are a cornerstone of atomic and laser physics, and more broadly quantum information science, at William & Mary, saidSeth Aubin, associate professor of physics. She has developed an extensive research program that uses optically-induced quantum coherence of atomic states for quantum memory, precision magnetometry and squeezed light.

Novikova explained to W&M News that her main area of expertise is using light to manipulate quantum states of atoms and vice versa. Atoms are the building blocks of all matter, but they are also tiny quantum systems with enormous potential.

The beauty is that atoms of the same element are truly identical, and theyre quantum by nature, said Novikova. Plus, if one knows quantum mechanics, atoms are fairly easy to understand. That makes them beautiful playgrounds for figuring out how to do new things.

One of Novikovas long-term projects is magnetometry, and she explained that atoms change their energies slightly when put in a magnetic field, and the amount of that change depends on their quantum state.

Many atoms are like little magnets themselves, said Novikova. So in a magnetic field, they will point in one direction or another direction. Depending on the direction, the energy shift will be a little different. What is most exciting is that now we have lasers to accurately measure these tiny changes, and thus measure the magnetic field.

The result is a highly precise measurement system with a wide range of uses, W&M News reports, and one example is cardiac diagnosis. Currently, electrocardiograms (EKGs) are the main diagnostic tools for cardiologists.

Novikova explained that an EKG is an indirect measurement of cardiac activity, as it measures changes that take place within the skin. Doctors then determine how those skin changes reflect whats going on within the heart. Magnetometry, on the other hand, is a direct measurement of the actual electric currents that control the heart.

With magnetometry, doctors can see exactly whats going on inside the heart, said Novikova, And its measured very precisely.

Magnetometrys measurement capabilities can be applied to improve efficiency in a wide variety of other fields, including satellite technology and navigation, and its also highly effective in the detection of things like oil reserves and submarines, according to the report.

Quantum science is taking off in so many different directions, said Novikova. Its great to see how something youve been working on for so long that used to be considered a bit exotic and weird is now being taken seriously. Were currently talking about which devices we can build and how we can manufacture and mass-produce them. Its really exciting to visualize.

Novikova regularly communicates and collaborates with researchers from other disciplines and institutions, Aubin said. Irina has employed her strong leadership skills to build several successful multidisciplinary and multi-institution collaborations to undertake ambitious science projects with academic, federal and industry research partners. Her leadership activities also extend to organizing national conferences and serving as an editor for journals.

Novikova also gives public talks and attends science education shows at local elementary and middle schools to help the general public gain more knowledge of the basics of quantum research and its applications.

She has also ledPhysicsFest, the physics departments yearly open house, since its inception. In addition to lectures and demonstrations, the event provides an opportunity for members of the general public to tour physics labs and talk to scientists about their research, according to W&M News.

I think quantum physics has a reputation of being really weird, said Novikova. And yes, it is completely counterintuitive, but applied quantum science is really changing what we can do with current technology. I think that a wider understanding of its basic principles and applications will help to expand new possibilities in other fields. Its a really exciting area of physics to become familiar with right now.

Read the original story at W&M News.

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W&Ms Irina Novikova Named Fellow of the American Physical Society - WYDaily