About

Ryan Young is a Research Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University and serves as the Director of Operations for the Northwestern's Center for Molecular Quantum Transduction (CMQT). He holds both a Bachelor's degree and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from UCLA and UC Berkeley, respectively. In his role at CMQT, Ryan Young is involved in the operational management of the center, contributing to research initiatives in the field of molecular quantum transduction. His academic background and professional responsibilities focus on advancing research in physical chemistry and quantum technologies, supporting Northwestern University's broader mission in sustainability and energy research.

Research topics

• Physics
• Photochemistry
• Chemistry
• Atomic physics
• Chemical physics
• Organic chemistry
• Quantum mechanics
• Molecular physics
• Condensed matter physics
• Physical chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Electrical engineering
• Materials science
• Medicinal chemistry
• Engineering
• Crystallography
• Optics

Selected publications

• Intramolecular Charge‐Transfer Dopants Enable Isolated Triplet Excitons as Spin Qutrits in a Single Crystal

  Angewandte Chemie · 2026-03-09

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Organic molecular crystals enable spin alignment of triplet excitons over macroscopic distances, offering a molecular route to solid‐state quantum technologies. In typical crystals, however, dense packing promotes spin decoherence through dipolar coupling and exciton hopping. Although dilution doping can mitigate these effects, reported examples remain scarce because dopants must satisfy stringent structural and energetic constraints. Here, we broaden the design space for doped organic crystals by introducing a strategy that employs a host‐derived dopant with intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT) character that maintains structural compatibility with the host lattice, while its ICT character lowers the triplet energy to localize triplet excitons. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy confirms triplet formation, while time‐resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy reveals that these oriented triplets possess selectively addressable spin sublevel transitions. Additionally, pulse‐EPR measurements yield a phase memory time ( T m ) of 7.1 µs at 10 K and 3.5 µs at 85 K, enabled by reduced electron‐electron dipolar coupling and suppressed exciton hopping. Temperature‐dependent studies further show that coherence is ultimately limited by nuclear spin flip–flops at low temperatures and spin‐phonon coupling at higher temperatures. These findings demonstrate that ordered triplet excitons produced by an ICT dopant in single crystals promote spin coherence at elevated temperatures.

  PublisherDOI

• High-Fidelity quantum teleportation mediated by hole transfer in an acceptor–donor–radical molecular triad

  Nature Communications · 2026-03-14

  articleOpen access

  Quantum teleportation transfers quantum states between nodes in a quantum network through entanglement distribution and subsequent Bell-state measurements. Here, we report electron spin teleportation through an unexplored hole-transfer mechanism within an ensemble of covalently linked acceptor–donor–stable radical (A–D–R•) molecules. Photoexcitation of A after spin state preparation on R• results in ultrafast hole transfer to produce an entangled pair 1(A•−–D•+). A subsequent spontaneous hole transfer 1(A•−–1[D•+)–R•] → A•−–D–R+ constitutes a Bell-state measurement, projecting the spin state initially prepared on R• onto A•−. Quantum state tomography using pulse electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy reveals successful teleportation. A fidelity of 98% is achieved due to high entanglement purity, small Larmor frequency mismatch between sender and receiver radicals, as well as minimized delay between state preparation and teleportation. These results represent an important step in developing molecular materials that can transfer information coherently between nanoscale quantum devices. Recent advances with molecular qubits have enabled the implementation of spin quantum teleportation (QT), albeit with limited fidelity & applicability. Here, the authors demonstrate optimal QT of spin states via hole transfer in covalently linked acceptor-donor-radical molecules, opening towards rational design of molecular materials for coherent information transfer.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Chirality-Induced Spin Selectivity in an Achiral Electron Donor–Acceptor Molecule Doped into a Cholesteric Liquid Crystal

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026-03-31

  article

  Chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) enables control over radical pair spin dynamics for applications in quantum information science (QIS). In this study, we show that this control can be achieved through supramolecular chirality transfer, rather than relying on the intrinsic molecular chirality of the molecule used to generate the radical pair. We investigate how doping an achiral donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) molecule into a cholesteric liquid crystal affects the spin dynamics of a spin-correlated radical pair (D•+-B-A•-, SCRP) formed by photoinitiated, subnanosecond, two-step charge separation, where D = p-methoxyaniline (MeOAn), B = 4-(N-piperidinyl)naphthalene-1,8-dicarboximide (ANI), and A = naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide) (NDI), compound 1. The cholesteric phase of 4-cyano-4′-n-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) was prepared by the addition of the chiral dopant (R)-2-octyl 4-[4-(hexyloxy)benzoyloxy]benzoate (R811) or its enantiomer (S811). Compound 1 was then doped into these mixtures to form (1/5CB/R811) and (1/5CB/S811). Circular dichroism spectra indicate that chirality transfer occurs from the chiral medium to 1. Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at 85 K was used to observe the SCRP resulting from photoexcitation of B in 1 aligned in 5CB/R811 and 5CB/S811, as well as in 5CB lacking the chiral dopant. The resulting spectra reveal distinct line shape changes indicative of a strong CISS contribution (>83%) to the spin dynamics of D•+-B-A•- formation in the cholesteric phase of 5CB/R811 and 5CB/S811. These results demonstrate that CISS can be effectively induced by supramolecular chirality transfer in SCRPs that lack intrinsic molecular chirality; thus expanding the potential use of CISS for QIS applications.

  PublisherDOI

• An Eclipse-Ballooning Study of Shadow Bands During the April 2024 Total Eclipse

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Symmetry-Enabled Optical Spin Initialization of Luminescent Organic Radical Doublet States

  ChemRxiv · 2026-03-02

  articleOpen access

  Optical-spin interfaces that enable the photoinitialization, coherent microwave manipulation, and optical readout of ground state spins are promising for emerging quantum technologies. Molecular optical-spin interfaces offer advantages over solid-state defects through synthetic control of their optical and spin properties. Optical initialization of these systems relies on spin-selective intersystem crossing between electronic states of different spin multiplicity. In this work, we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that coherent excited-state evolutions enable optical spin polarization of luminescent tris(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)methyl (TTM) monoradicals without the need for intersystem crossing. Inspired by the alignment-to-orientation conversion (AOC) phenomenon in atomic physics, we find that the doubly degenerate first excited state of 𝐷symmetric TTM possesses a pseudo-orbital angular momentum that couples to the electron spin through in-state spin-orbit coupling, resulting in spin-dependent excited-state dynamics following photoexcitation. These coherent dynamics produce differential decay pathways to the ground state that generate persistent spin polarization in an applied magnetic field. Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy confirms photoinduced ground-state spin polarization in TTM and its symmetry-preserving derivatives, while lower-symmetry analogues exhibit no polarization, consistent with a loss of pseudo-orbital angular momentum. Quantum dynamics simulations predict spin-dependent luminescence dynamics and circularly polarized emission from photoinitialized TTM, providing viable pathways for future optical spin readout. These results establish a fundamentally new paradigm for optical spin initialization in organic radicals based on symmetry-enabled coherent dynamics and lay the foundation for establishing optical-spin interfaces in organic monoradicals.

  PublisherDOI

• Intramolecular Charge‐Transfer Dopants Enable Isolated Triplet Excitons as Spin Qutrits in a Single Crystal

  Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2026-03-09

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Organic molecular crystals enable spin alignment of triplet excitons over macroscopic distances, offering a molecular route to solid‐state quantum technologies. In typical crystals, however, dense packing promotes spin decoherence through dipolar coupling and exciton hopping. Although dilution doping can mitigate these effects, reported examples remain scarce because dopants must satisfy stringent structural and energetic constraints. Here, we broaden the design space for doped organic crystals by introducing a strategy that employs a host‐derived dopant with intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT) character that maintains structural compatibility with the host lattice, while its ICT character lowers the triplet energy to localize triplet excitons. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy confirms triplet formation, while time‐resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy reveals that these oriented triplets possess selectively addressable spin sublevel transitions. Additionally, pulse‐EPR measurements yield a phase memory time ( T m ) of 7.1 µs at 10 K and 3.5 µs at 85 K, enabled by reduced electron‐electron dipolar coupling and suppressed exciton hopping. Temperature‐dependent studies further show that coherence is ultimately limited by nuclear spin flip–flops at low temperatures and spin‐phonon coupling at higher temperatures. These findings demonstrate that ordered triplet excitons produced by an ICT dopant in single crystals promote spin coherence at elevated temperatures.

  PublisherDOI

• Detecting chirality-induced spin selectivity in chromophore-linked DNA hairpins using photogenerated radical pairs

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-08-05 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  Chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) results in spin polarization of electrons transmitted through chiral molecules and materials. Since CISS results in spin polarization even at room temperature, it affords the possibility of using it to develop quantum technologies that can operate under ambient conditions. We have shown previously that photo-driven hole transfer within DNA hairpins provides a facile route to generate spin-correlated radical pairs (SCRPs). To study the effect of CISS on the spin dynamics of SCRPs in DNA hairpins, we prepared a series of electron donor—chiral bridge—acceptor molecules where the chiral bridge is a B-form DNA helix consisting of 4 to 6 base pairs. Naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide) (NDI) serves as the hairpin linker chromophore and electron acceptor. Photoexcitation of NDI results in rapid hole transfer through the π-stacked purine bases of the DNA and trapping of the hole on a terminal stilbene diether (Sd) to generate the NDI •− - Sd •+ SCRP. Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of the SCRPs at X- (9.6 GHz), Q- (34 GHz), and W- (94 GHz) bands show that the CISS effect imparts significant triplet character to the SCRP. We do not observe a significant dependence of CISS on DNA length, likely resulting from hole delocalization over the guanine bases in the G-tract. Interestingly, we find that the CISS contribution significantly increases with magnetic field strength. These findings should be considered in any future modeling of CISS.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Pan-RAS Inhibitor RMC-6236 Suppresses Myeloma Growth and Shows Enhanced Efficacy with SWI/SNF Inhibition

  Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma & Leukemia · 2025-09-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Sublevel-Selective Electron Spin Hyerpolarization of Triplet Radical Pairs in Metal–Organic Frameworks

  ChemRxiv · 2025-10-07

  article

  Molecular spin systems are promising for spin-based technologies due to their tunable properties and compatibility with bottom-up assembly. Photogenerated radical pairs (RPs) exhibit spin hyperpolarization even under ambient conditions, making them valuable for quantum information science (QIS) and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). However, most studies have focused on isolated molecules in dense matrices, limiting their applicability. Here, we propose a new approach for integrating RPs into a metal-organic framework (MOF) as higher-order assemblies, enabling regulated generation of spin polarization at specific spin sublevels. An electron acceptor (A), N,N'-Di(4-pyridyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxdiimide (DPNDI), was incorporated into MOF-525 (Zn) composed of an electron donor (D), Zn-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (ZnTCPP), yielding MOF-525 (Zn)-DPNDI. The dense packing of D-A pairs enables efficient quenching of the singlet excited state of ZnTCPP, leading to the regulated photophysical pathway to form strongly-coupled triplet radical pairs (TRPs) with selective T0 state spin polarization. TRPs exhibit narrower EPR spectra than triplet states generated via intersystem crossing (ISC), which offers significant advantages for enhancing spectral addressability in QIS and improving efficiency of polarization transfer in DNP. The rigid intercalating structure of D-A in MOF prevents the relaxation of T0 state spin polarization even in the presence of various guest solvents and its spin-lattice relaxation time is modulated by adsorbed guest molecules. This work demonstrates a molecular framework capable of generating long-lived, sublevel-specific spin polarization, offering a scalable platform for quantum sensing and guest-targeted DNP.

  PublisherDOI

• Augmentation of Pure-Blue Electroluminescence in Quasi-2D Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes Using a Multifunctional Additive of 4-Aminobenzophenone

  ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · 2025-07-22

  article

  Pure-blue light-emitting diodes play a critical role in solid-state lighting and full-color display technologies as they are indispensable for achieving broad color gamuts and high color-rendering index lighting. However, the development of high-performance perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) with pure-blue electroluminescence presents a significant challenge, particularly in terms of attaining a high brightness, spectral stability, and quantum efficiency. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of incorporating 4-aminobenzophenone (4-ABP) as a novel passivating agent into blue perovskite emitting layers (EMLs) to effectively mitigate defective antisites and enhance pure-blue emission properties. The carbonyl and amino groups of 4-ABP provide dual-functional sites for hydrogen bonding and Lewis acid–base interactions, thereby significantly passivating defects within the perovskite EMLs while simultaneously influencing crystallization kinetics. Consequently, the incorporation of 4-ABP reduces defect sites, suppresses nonradiative recombination, and facilitates carrier transport and injection, resulting in a high luminance of 787.68 cd m–2 and a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 4.17%, outperforming control devices. The pure-blue PeLEDs passivated with 4-ABP achieve pure-blue EL emission at 460 nm with a full width at half-maximum bandwidth of 22.42 nm, which realizes CIE chromatic coordinates of (0.139, 0.038), covering a prime blue color gamut according to the Rec.2020 standard. Notably, these devices exhibit excellent spectral and operational stability under voltage bias due to efficient defect passivation, which suppresses ion migration channels.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Michael R. Wasielewski

  Northwestern University

  318 shared

• J. Fraser Stoddart

  UNSW Sydney

  133 shared

• Matthew D. Krzyaniak

  Northwestern University

  54 shared

• Charlotte L. Stern

  Northwestern University

  51 shared

• George C. Schatz

  Northwestern University

  45 shared

• Scott M. Dyar

  40 shared

• Antonio Facchetti

  Georgia Institute of Technology

  38 shared

• Daniel M. Neumark

  University of California, Berkeley

  37 shared

Education

• Ph. D, Chemistry

  University of California Berkeley

  2011

• B.S., Chemistry

  University of California Los Angeles

  2006