Ryan Kowalski, a 4th year graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Materials Science program, was awarded a fellowship by the NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity (NSTGRO) in June 2022. Ryan, a member of the Caldwell Lab, received the award for his work on identifying the origins of single-photon emitting defects in semiconductor materials. With the advent of quantum technologies, a significant push for robust, scalable, and reliable quantum bits (qubits) has driven the scientific community to explore new material platforms. These technologies offer enhanced sensing capabilities, secure communications, and quantum computing for large-scale simulations. Materials such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), silicon carbide (SiC), and even diamond host single-photon emitting defects that act as state-of-the-art qubits. Ryan’s research investigates the optical, vibrational, and quantum nature of these point defects on the nanoscale. He will collaborate alongside researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center during his time as a fellow.