Faculty & Staff Directory
Karen Sauer
- Professor
Contact Info
- Name
- Dr. Karen Sauer
- Job Title
- Professor
- Website
- Phone Number
- Office Number
- Planetary Hall, Room 217, MSN 3F3
Affiliations
Departments
- Physics & Astronomy Department (Faculty)
Research Areas
- Physics
Education
- PhD, Atomic Physics, Princeton University, (1998).
- BA, Physics, Cornell University (1992).
About
Karen L. Sauer received the B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in Physics in 1992 from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She pursued graduate studies in Physics at Princeton University in New Jersey, where she earned her Ph.D. in 1998 for work on laser-polarized liquid xenon in the Atomic Physics group. She was a Chateaubriand Postdoctoral Fellow at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, from 1998 to 2000, working on dipolar field effects in highly magnetized fluids with the Quantum Fluids group at the Laboratoire Kastler-Brossel. From 2000 to 2002, she was an NRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., working on three-frequency nuclear quadrupole resonance. In Sept. 2002, she joined the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy at George Mason University, where she is currently a Professor.
Current Research
Her main research interests lie in zero or low-field magnetic resonance phenomena, including quantum magnetometers and exploration of novel materials like iron-based superconductors.
The Magnetic Resonance Laboratory (MRL) is directed by Dr. Karen L. Sauer, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. MRL research seeks to understand and exploit spin dynamics in systems such as nuclear quadrupole resonance and optically pumped atoms. In addition, we conduct research to push the noise in such systems to their fundamental limit, to reveal the full capability of magnetic resonance at low fields both as an analytic tool and for the detection of contraband substances.
Teaching Focus
Dr. Sauer focuses her teaching on a wide range of undergraduate and graduate physics courses, with a particular emphasis on experimental physics, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics.
Selected Publications
- Jaafar N. Ansari, Karen L. Sauer, and James K. Glasbrenner, The Predictive Power of Different Projector-Augmented Wave Potentials for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance, Crystals 9, 507 (2019).
- Robert J. Cooper, David W. Prescott, Garrett J. Lee, and Karen L. Sauer, RF atomic magnetometer array with over 40 dB interference suppression using electron spin resonance, Journal of Magnetic Resonance 296, 36 (2018).
- Robert J. Cooper, Brian L. Mark, David W. Prescott, Karen L. Sauer, Improving the design of atomic magnetometer arrays for RF interference mitigation in NQR detection of explosives , Proc. SPIE 10182, Detection and Sensing of Mines, Explosive Objects, and Obscured Targets XXII, 1018208 (2017).
- Robert J. Cooper, David W. Prescott, Peter Matz, Karen L. Sauer, Nezih Dural, Michael V. Romalis, Elizabeth L. Foley, Thomas W. Kornack, Mark Monti, and Jeffrey Okamitsu Atomic Magnetometer Multisensor Array for rf Interference Mitigation and Unshielded Detection of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance, Phys. Rev. Applied 6, 064014 (2016).
Awards
- K.L. Sauer Quantum magnetometers for rapid identification of resonance frequencies in explosives, pharmaceuticals, and other substances, National Science Foundation (award #1711118), 2017-2020.
- K.L. Sauer (GMU) and Mike Romalis (Princeton) Robust interference rejection in the NQR detection of explosives: the next generation atomic magnetometer and magnetometer array design, US Army: Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (MTEQ: #W909MY-12-D0008/0024), 2017-2020.
Contact Info
- Name
- Dr. Karen Sauer
- Job Title
- Professor
- Website
- Phone Number
- Office Number
- Planetary Hall, Room 217, MSN 3F3