Schmidt Fund awards support transformative technologies

  - Gerard Wysocki -   - Photo by Frank Wojciechowski -   - Daniel Sigman -   - Photo courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation -   - Andrew Houck -   - Photo by Frank Wojciechowski -   - Hakan Türeci -   - Photo by Frank Wojciechowski -   - Haw Yang -   - Photo by Brian Wilson -   - A nitrogen sensor that can monitor environmental change, a "no-frills" quantum computer and a laboratory small enough to fit inside a single cell are the three technologies selected to receive support this year at Princeton University from the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund. Established in 2009 by Google CEO and Princeton alumnus Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, the $25 million endowment fund supports the development of new technologies that have the potential to enable significant scientific and technological advances. The researchers spearheading the three winning projects will each receive funds to stimulate the development of these groundbreaking technologies. The environmental change sensor, a novel method for measuring nitrogen, is being created by Gerard Wysocki , an assistant professor of electrical engineering , and Daniel Sigman , the Dusenbury Professor of Geological and Geophysical Sciences. The quantum computer project, with the potential to answer questions currently impossible to address with today's computers, is led by Andrew Houck and Hakan Türeci , both assistant professors of electrical engineering. The "nanolab," small enough to explore the inner workings of cells, is being developed by Haw Yang , associate professor of chemistry.