Peter Maurer is an Associate Professor of Molecular Engineering in the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
Maurer was named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow.
Maurer received his postdoctoral training in Steven Chu’s group at Stanford University, where he focused on the development of novel nanoscale imaging technologies. Prior to joining the Chu Lab, Prof. Maurer received his PhD in physics from Harvard University, where he worked with Mikhail Lukin.
During his graduate work, Peter utilized tools from quantum optics to coherently control individual spins in diamond for applications in quantum information science and bio-sensing. Before moving to Harvard, Maurer obtained his undergraduate degree in physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).
Maurer Lab focuses on the development and application of novel imaging and sensing modalities that enable the investigation of biological systems that are not accessible by conventional techniques. To this end, the lab explores coherent control techniques and quantum algorithms that harness solid state spin systems of increasing complexity and combines them with state-of-the-art biophysics tools. Such novel technologies include the development of a nanoscale quantum sensor for NMR spectroscopy of individual biomolecules, a single-molecule platform for quantum sensing, and the establishment of new nanophotonics techniques for bio-imaging.
The successful development of such novel single-molecule techniques will provide powerful tools to investigate fundamental biological questions and form the basis for a new generation of diagnostic devices. Likewise, the development of novel quantum sensing protocols will extend our understanding of quantum systems at ambient conditions, and establish quantum information technology as a potent resource in biological research.
Probing cellular activity via charge-sensitive quantum nanoprobes
U. Zvi, S. Mundhra, D. Ovetsky, Q. Chen, A. R. Jones, S. Wang, M. Roman, M. Ferro, K. Odunsi, M. C. Garassino, M. E. Flatte, M. Swartz, D. R. Candido, A. Esser-Kahn, P. C. Maurer, Probing cellular activity via charge-sensitive quantum nanoprobes, Advanced Materials 0935-9648 (2026)
A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit
T. X. Zheng, Zheng, M. I. Bakti Utama, X. Gao, M. Kar, X. Yu, S. Kang, H. Cai, T. R., D. Ovetsky, U. Zvi, G. Lao, Y. X. Wang, O. Raz, S. Chitransh, G. T. Smith, L. R. Weiss, M. H. Czyz, S. Yang, A. J. Fairhall, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, D. D. Awschalom, A. P. Alivisatos, R. H. Goldsmith, G. C. S., Mark C. Hersam, P. C. Maurer, et al. A Surface-Scaffolded Molecular Qubit arXiv:2601.19976
Engineering diamond interfaces free of dark spins
X. Yu*, E. J. Villafranca*, S. Wang, J. Jones, M. Xie, D. R. Candido, J. Nagura, I. Chi-Duran, N. Delegan, M. E. Flatte, P. C. Maurer, Engineering Dark Spin-Free Diamond Interfaces, Phys. Rev. Appl. 10.1103 (2025)
A fluorescent-protein spin qubit
J. S. Feder*, B. S. Soloway*, S. Verma, Z. Z. Geng, S. Wang, B. Kifle, E. G. Riendeau, Y. Tsaturyan, L. R. Weiss, M. Xie, J. Huang, A. Esser-Kahn, L. Gagliardi, D. D. Awschalom, P. C. Maurer, A fluorescent-protein spin qubit, Nature 645, 73–79 (2025) - Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year in physics for 2025, Physics World
Quantum biosensing on a multiplexed functionalized diamond microarray
I. Chi-Duran, E. J. Villafranca, D. Dang, R. Rosiles, C. T. Cheung, Z. Zhang, J. P. Cleveland, P. C. Maurer, Quantum biosensing on a multiplexed functionalized diamond microarray arXiv:2508.13193
Engineering spin coherence in core-shell diamond nanocrystals
U. Zvi, D. R. Candido, A. Weiss, A. R. Jones, L. Chen, I. Golovina, X. Yu, S. Wang, D. V. Talapin, M. E. Flatté, A. P. Esser-Kahn, P. C. Maurer, Engineering spin coherence in core-shell diamond nanocrystals, PNAS 122 (21) e2422542122 (2025)
Direct-bonded diamond membranes for heterogeneous quantum and electronic technologies
X. Guo, M. Xie, A. Addhya, A. Linder, U. Zvi, T. D. Deshmukh, Y. Liu, I. N. Hammock, Z. Li, C. T. DeVault, A. Butcher, A. P. Esser-Kahn, D. D. Awschalom, N. Delegan, P. C. Maurer, F. J. Heremans, A. A. High, Direct-bonded diamond membranes for heterogeneous quantum and electronic technologies, Nature Communications 15.1: 8788 (2024)
Direct-bonded diamond membranes for heterogeneous quantum and electronic technologies
X. Guo, M. Xie, A. Addhya, A. Linder, U. Zvi, T. D. Deshmukh, Y. Liu, I. N. Hammock, Z. Li, C. T. DeVault, A. Butcher, A. P. Esser-Kahn, D. D. Awschalom, N. Delegan, P. C. Maurer, F. J. Heremans, A. A. High. Direct-bonded diamond membranes for heterogeneous quantum and electronic technologies. 2023. arXiv:2306.04408.
Preparation of metrological states in dipolar-interacting spin systems
T. X. Zheng, A. Li, J. Rosen, S. Zhou, M. Koppenhöfer, Z. Ma, F. T. Chong, A. A. Clerk, L. Jiang, P. C. Maurer, Preparation of metrological states in dipolar-interacting spin systems, npj – Quantum Information 8, 150 (2022)
Biocompatible surface functionalization architecture for a diamond quantum sensor
M. Xie*, X. Yu*, L. V. H. Rodgers, D. Xu, I. Chi-Duran, A. Toros, N. Quack, N. P. de Leon, P. C. Maurer, Biocompatible surface functionalization architecture for a diamond quantum sensor, PNAS 119, 8 e2114186119 (2022)- Featured in Nature Reviews Materials