Master's student Hans Beukers wins Shell Graduation Award for Physics

Master's student in Physics (and Medicine) Hans Beukers, who graduated Cum Laude in February 2019, has won the Shell Graduation Award for Physics. Beukers did research into quantum properties of electrons and atomic nuclei in diamond, with the aim of using these as nodes for a future quantum internet.

He conducted his research project under the supervision of Prof. Hanson from TU Delft and Prof. Van der Wal from the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials. Beukers presented his promising results in his master thesis entitled "Improving coherence of quantum memory during entanglement creation between nitrogen vacancy centres in diamond - The cure for quantum Alzheimer?".

Beukers mastered both the theory and the very complex measurement setups, from lasers to fast electronics to software. He even thoroughly improved one of the setups and prepared for the experiments he wanted to do. His goal was to investigate whether quantum states could be preserved for longer in high magnetic fields. The results are very promising for quantum internet applications.

Graduation Awards

The Shell Graduation Award for Physics is part of the KHMW Graduation Awards. Please find an overview of all FSE/UG winners (Graduation and Incentive Awards) here.