The two pillars of modern physics, quantum theory and Einstein’s theory of general relativity, seem incompatible with each other. For those pillars to align, gravity would have to obey quantum physics and be mediated by particles known as gravitons. However, not a single graviton was ever detected, making the problem of quantum gravity remain theoretical. Yet Igor Pikovski, physicist and assistant professor, demonstrated that graviton detection is possible and with it, introduced an entirely new perspective for quantum technology. To support his research and collaboration with Yale University, Pikovski has been awarded a highly competitive $1.3 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, the first in Stevens’ history.
The W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. Keck envisioned a foundation that “would provide far-reaching benefits for humanity.” Throughout the years, the organization supported pioneering discoveries in science, engineering, and medical research that laid the groundwork for new scientific discoveries and innovative technologies. President Nariman Farvardin stated that Pikovski’s recognition is a proud moment for Stevens. “This is our first Keck award,” Farvardin explained, “and it reflects what we aspire to as a university — world-class faculty creating knowledge that transforms our understanding of the world.”
Pikovski’s journey with Stevens began in 2018, after he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Since then, he has been named a Stevens Presidential Fellow in 2023, received the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) CAREER award in 2023, and dubbed a Branco Weiss Fellow in 2016. His area of expertise is quantum information and technologies, particularly focusing on how gravity shows itself in the quantum realm. Graviton detection is one instance and is an active line of research funded by the Kent grant. Pikovski’s team also explored the quantum nature of time, sensing, and networking to improve these technologies and introduce new cases. In general, their projects revealed quantum mechanics at large scale to find new capacities.
Notably, Pikovski and his team published an article demonstrating their research that graviton detection was possible in Nature Communications in 2024. It introduced a new perspective by combining two major experimental advances. The first is the detection of gravitational waves, which are ripples in time and space from collisions of black holes or neutron stars. If gravity obeys quantum physics, gravitational waves would be “vast collections of gravitons acting in concert” and appear indistinguishable from classical waves. The second advance is in quantum engineering as physicists have learnt to measure massive systems in genuine quantum states. In the laboratory of Jack Harris, professor at Yale University, a groundbreaking experiment was conducted that measured the “individual vibrational quanta of superfluid helium weighing over a nanogram.” Pikovski realized that if the two advances were combined, it’s possible to detect a single graviton as a gravitational wave could transfer a graviton into a massive quantum system. Pikovski and Harris teamed up to explore this line of thinking with the world’s first experiment to explicitly detect gravitons. The Kent grant enables them to develop a superfluid-helium resonator on the centimeter scale to bypass the issue that gravitons hardly interact with matter.
Pikovski noted that it’s the first grant in history specifically for gravitation detection, and he was thrilled that there is seed funding available for the new line of research. While it’s still in its early days, Pikovski is excited for the research and discoveries ahead. The grant will support researching gravitational detection in greater detail by developing the detector blueprint, mapping out scientific opportunities, and better understanding what can be learned from detecting gravitons. It essentially mimics the study of photons, particles of light, and applies it to gravitons.
Pikovski stressed that the research is highly accessible to students, especially undergraduates. While research on quantum gravity is typically pure mathematics, he emphasizes the experiments instead. “The difficulty is not the math, we just use standard quantum physics, but rather creativity,” Pikovski remarked. “It is always highly rewarding to work with students on this, who bring curiosity and an open mind!”
