Jenny Schloss

2013 Hertz Fellow
Jennifer Schloss
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Jennifer Schloss is a staff scientist at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where she is developing new sensing technologies using quantum impurities in diamond.

She received her PhD from MIT in 2019. Her thesis work also centered on quantum sensing with diamond and, in particular, developing magnetic sensors and imagers for neuroscience applications. Using large ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond, she and her colleagues detected magnetic field signals from single firing neurons. Her research pushed forward the field of quantum sensing towards enabling high-sensitivity magnetic imaging of functional activity in neurons and neuronal circuits.

Jenny was born and raised in Concord, Massachusetts and majored in physics at Oberlin College, where she worked with Stephen Fitzgerald studying gases trapped in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using variable-temperature infrared spectroscopy. At Oberlin she developed a passion for quantum mechanics, which led her to MIT. She spent the first three years of her PhD in an atomic physics group working to create ultracold gases of polar molecules. Over time, though, she became more interested in applied physics and neuroscience, seeking to tackle problems with a more near-term impact on society. Jenny transitioned to working at Harvard in Ronald Walsworth’s group, where she applied quantum systems to study the brain.

In addition to research, Jenny enjoys outdoor activities including hiking, cycling, and rock-climbing. When she’s not in the lab or out exercising, she likes the company of good friends and family.

Graduate Studies

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Physics
Optimizing Nitrogen-Vacancy Diamond Magnetic Sensors and Imagers for Broadband Sensitivity

Undergraduate Studies

Oberlin College

Awards

2019, Hertz Thesis Prize, Fannie & John Hertz Foundation

Related News

Oct 20, 2020
Jenny Schloss and Sam Rodriques were awarded the 2019 Hertz Thesis Prize for developing tools to study biological processes.
May 30, 2017
Hertz Fellow Jenny Schloss is pioneering a new process of using synthetic diamonds to detect the miniscule magnetic fields generated by neural signals, at high resolution, down to individual neurons. It has the potential to revolutionize methods of measuring neural activity across wide-ranging disciplines, including biophysics and pharmacology, and contribute to a better understanding of the development of neurons over time. One promising direction in medicine is with neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis, where neuroscientists could correlate real-time changes in the magnetic signals from patients’ neurons with the progression of the disease.