Quantum Hide-and-Seek: SURF Project Automates Finding the Invisible

Imagine trying to spot a single snowflake on a glass slide — not with your eyes, but with a microscope, and not just any snowflake, but one that’s invisible to the naked eye. That’s the challenge Patrick Kaczmarek is solving with a blend of quantum physics, robotics and machine learning.

Kaczmarek, a junior at Carnegie Mellon University majoring in applied physics and an additional major in mechanical engineering, was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship(opens in new window) (SURF) to work on a project that blends quantum physics, robotics and machine learning — all in pursuit of making the invisible visible.

His research centers on automating the detection of two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are one atom thick and possess remarkable electronic and optical properties. These materials are often referred to as “flat LEGOS” for their ability to be stacked and arranged to create new structures like LEGO bricks. They are used in the creation of things like high-speed trains, ultrasensitive medical imaging devices and computers that have superconducting capabilities and other advanced functions. But finding and manipulating these flakes is no small task.

“Graduate students spend hours staring at slides to find these flakes,” Kaczmarek said. “It’s kind of inhumane.”

To solve this problem, Kaczmarek is developing a system that uses a robotic arm, a motorized microscope stage and a Gaussian mixture model — which makes it easier to find super-thin materials that are hard to see — to automate the detection and categorization of 2D flakes. The system scans glass slides, identifies flakes based on thickness and area, and flags those suitable for device fabrication — especially the elusive monolayer flakes.

The setup is designed to be used inside a glove box — a sealed container that allows researchers to safely manipulate sensitive materials through built-in gloves, protecting them from air, moisture or direct contact while maintaining a controlled vacuum environment. This is crucial, as many 2D materials degrade quickly when exposed to air.

Kaczmarek finds the project especially meaningful because it bridges his two academic worlds.

“In physics, I study materials at the quantum scale. In mechanical engineering, I learn system design,” he explained. “This research lets me combine both and make something new.”

He’s also active in Carnegie Mellon Rocket Command, where he collaborates with students from other disciplines to design complex electrical systems.

“CMU lets me be who I want to be,” he said. “I can work with anyone on anything.”

Kaczmarek said he hopes to pursue a Ph.D. and continue working in nanoscale fabrication, a field he finds intellectually challenging and rewarding.

“Research is more than problem sets,” he said. “It’s about making things happen — synthesizing what you know with what you’re about to learn.”