Ronald Walsworth is an American physicist, engineer, and professor at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

Career

Walsworth earned a B.S. in physics from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1984 and completed a Ph.D. in physics from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1991. He has been recognized for his contributions to science. In 2001, he was elected a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

. He was a Distinguished Traveling Lecturer for the American Physical Society from 2002 to 2023. In 2005, he received the Francis M. Pipkin Award in Precision Measurements from the American Physical Society. He also received the Smithsonian Institution Exceptional Service Award; the Duke University Faculty Scholar Award; and the

NASA Group Achievement Award The NASA Group Achievement Award (GAA) is an award given by NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the U ...

. Since 2020, Walsworth has served as the Founding Director of the Quantum Technology Center at the University of Maryland; and also as a Minta Martin Professor in the Department of Physics and in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland. He previously served as a Senior Physicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at Harvard University. Walsworth has helped establish several startup companies. In 2012, he co-founded Quantum Diamond Technologies with Mikhail Lukin and others to develop biomedical diagnostic technology using nitrogen-vacancy diamond magnetic imaging. In 2014, he co-founded Hyperfine with Matthew Rosen and Jonathan Rothberg to develop the world's first portable human

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

instrument able to move to a patient's bedside at the point of care. In 2020, he founded Quantum Catalyzer to perform quantum research and create new quantum technology startups; one of these companies is QDM.IO, co-founded by Walsworth and geologist Roger Fu, which builds and sells quantum diamond microscopes (QDMs) for research and education. In 2024, Walsworth joine
Quantum Coast Capital
as an advisor, leveraging his extensive expertise in quantum science and technology to guide the

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm in identifying and nurturing innovative startups in the quantum ecosystem. His role involves shaping strategies for investment in quantum technologies and fostering collaborations between research institutions and industry to accelerate advancements in the field.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Maryland, College Park faculty Duke University alumni Harvard University alumni {{US-physicist-stub