Suffolk Reporter

Xiaoqian Chen, a physicist and beamline scientist at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, has been awarded funding through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science’s Early Career Research Program. Chen is one of 91 early career scientists selected nationwide to receive this support.

“Investing in cutting-edge research and science is a cornerstone of DOE's mission and essential to maintaining America’s role as a global innovation leader,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The Biden-Harris administration is funding scientists and researchers at our nation’s national labs and universities, early in their careers, ensuring they have the resources to expand scientific discovery and pursue solutions to some of the most complex questions.”

Chen will receive five years of funding to study quantum correlations in condensed matter at NSLS-II’s Coherent Hard X-ray Scattering (CHX) beamline. Her research focuses on understanding how particles interact in quantum systems, which cannot be explained by classical physics.

“When two particles are quantum entangled,” explained Chen, “if you know the information from one particle, you know the information from the other. People have been trying to detect and quantify quantum entanglement in condensed matter systems – systems with about 100 sextillion electrons.” She aims to extend this understanding using coherent X-ray scattering techniques.

This project builds on Chen's previous work at Brookhaven’s Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Department. Andrei Fluerasu, lead beamline scientist at CHX, noted that her research takes advantage of NSLS-II's unique properties and has increased academic and national lab usage of the CHX beamline.

“This project focuses on one of the Lab’s high-priority research initiatives,” said Fluerasu. “Her program has tremendous potential to be very impactful in this burgeoning field of research.”

The Early Career Research Program supports exceptional researchers early in their careers when many do their most formative work. Chen emphasized the importance of preparing a solid proposal for such awards.

“It’s really important for all early career scientists to prepare a solid proposal,” said Chen. “Creating it can help clarify the direction of a scientist’s career... What really matters...is having that plan laid out in front you.”

Since its inception, DOE's Early Career Research Program has made 961 funding awards across various fields within its eight major program offices.

A list of this year’s awardees is available on the Early Career Research Program webpage.