Kristina Dungan, a member of the Denison University class of 2015 and a resident of Hudson (44236), received an award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to study as a summer undergraduate research fellow at their Gaithersburg, Md. facility. Dungan conducted research in experimental quantum communication under NIST staff scientist Joshua Bienfang.
Quantum communication is an emerging method for cryptography that is unbreakable, at least in principle. In one implementation, much like classic data information, which uses electronic 0s and 1s, vertical and horizontal polarization states of single photons are used to encode information. This summer, Dungan’s research focused on the detection of these photons to improve the ability to receive encoded messages. In particular, Dungan and the scientists at NIST created a time-tagging system with 100 picosecond resolution that is capable of counting photons at rates above 500 MHz.
Dungan’s research at NIST closely connects with her coursework at Denison University. Notably, her “Modern Physics” course provided a foundation in quantum physics, and her “Electronics” course was a rigorous introduction to analog and digital circuit design. She plans to continue to do research in experimental quantum information during the academic year, working on a senior research project with Steven Olmschenk, assistant professor of physics and astronomy.