Research
Priya Raman
Research Scientist, Sensing & Metrology
she/her · at Ruqi since 2021
“A sensor that only works in one basement at one university is not yet a public good. Fieldwork is where the physics gets honest.”
Priya leads Ruqi's sensing program, turning laboratory-grade quantum measurement into instruments that can leave the building: compact magnetometers for groundwater and soil mapping, squeezed-light readout for portable clocks, and the calibration methods that keep them honest in the field.
She grew up in Chennai in a family of civil engineers and spent childhood summers on construction sites, learning to read soil and structure before she could read a circuit diagram. She studied atomic physics, then spent years assembling free-space optical systems that would survive a van ride on a bad road.
Her group publishes every mechanical drawing, calibration file, and analysis notebook. The goal is not a product line; it is a public measurement capability that a water district or a regional hospital can afford to own.
Working on
Quantum sensing · NV-diamond magnetometry · Field metrology
Off the clock
Keeps a life list of 612 birds and records dawn choruses for a community sound archive.
Ask me about
diamond magnetometry, field campaigns, optics, birdwatching.
Questions in the drawer
- What is the smallest, most repairable quantum sensor that still beats a classical instrument in the field?
- How do we certify a measurement when the person using it cannot open the box?
- Can groundwater mapping become routine public infrastructure rather than a consulting service?
Selected work
2025
2024
2026
Open to collaborations
Work with Priya
Good questions make better neighbours.
We answer email from students, journalists, public servants, and anyone who is trying to understand what quantum technology can actually do.