PNNL

Francisco Ponce is currently a physicist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the National Security Directorate, developing capabilities related to internal quantum information sciences as part of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s involvement in the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA). His current research areas include the characterization of loss mechanisms in superconducting transmon devices and the use of superconducting sensors as high-resolution photon/particle detectors. He is working collaboratively on the Beryllium Electron capture in Superconducting Tunnel junctions (BeEST) experiment to search for sterile neutrinos by establishing a process to enable phase IV of the experiment. This effort involves scaling up the number of sensors, transitioning to a dilution refrigerator, and integrating room-temperature detectors to enhance the reach of the experiment. He previously worked on the SuperCDMS experiment to search for dark matter and studied the nuclear decay of 229mTh as a potential resonator in a nuclear clock. Dr. Ponce obtained his doctorate from the University of California, Davis, his master’s degree from San Francisco State University, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

• Dark matter
• Superconductivity
• Quantum information science
• Cryogenic detectors
• mK temperatures
• Pump–probe techniques at cryogenic temperatures

• PhD in physics, University of California, Davis
• MS in physics, San Francisco State University
• BS in physics and applied mathematics, University of California, Berkeley

2025

• Bray C., S. Fretwell, I. Kim, W.K. Warburton, F. Ponce, K.G. Leach, and S. Friedrich, et al. 2025. "The Data Acquisition System for Phase-III of the BeEST Experiment." Journal of Low temperature Physics 218, no. 1-2:74-82. PNNL-SA-214379. doi:10.1007/s10909-024-03242-7
• Smolsky J., K.G. Leach, R. Abells, P. Amaro, A. Andoche, K. Borbridge, and C. Bray, et al. 2025. "Direct Experimental Constraints on the Spatial Extent of a Neutrino Wavepacket." Nature 638, no. _:640-644. PNNL-SA-197541. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08479-6

2023

• Albakry M.F., I. Alkhatib, D. Alonso, D.W. Amaral, T. Aralis, T. Aramaki, and I.J. Arnquist, et al. 2023. "First measurement of the nuclear-recoil ionization yield in silicon at 100 eV." Physical Review Letters 131, no. 9:Art. No. 091801. PNNL-SA-186011. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.091801
• Albakry M.F., I. Alkhatib, D. Alonso, D.W. Amaral, T. Aralis, T. Aramaki, and I.J. Arnquist, et al. 2023. "Search for Low-mass Dark Matter via Bremsstrahlung Radiation and the Migdal Effect in SuperCDMS." Physical Review D 107, no. 11:112013. PNNL-SA-172121. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.107.112013

2022

• Albakry M.F., I. Alkhatib, D.W. Amaral, T. Aralis, T. Aramaki, I.J. Arnquist, and I. Ataee Langroudy, et al. 2022. "Investigating the sources of low-energy events in a SuperCDMS-HVeV detector." Physical Review D 105, no. 11:Art. No. 112006. PNNL-SA-172447. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.105.112006
• Friedrich S., A. Marino, F. Ponce, M.H. Carpenter, G. Kim, O. Drury, and J. Drake, et al. 2022. "Characterization of Non-uniformities in Superconducting Tunnel Junction Radiation Detectors." Journal of Low temperature Physics 209, no. 5-6:1063-1069. PNNL-SA-179572. doi:10.1007/s10909-022-02825-6
• Ponce F., P.L. Brink, B. Cabrera, M. Cherry, N.A. Kurinsky, W.A. Page, and R. Partridge, et al. 2022. "Observation of Long-Lived UV-Induced Fluorescence from Environmental Materials Using the HVeV detector as developed for SuperCDMS." Journal of Low temperature Physics 209, no. 5-6:1172-1179. PNNL-SA-167235. doi:10.1007/s10909-022-02802-z