Molly Lockart, assistant professor in Samford University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been awarded a $55,000 grant from the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) to support her research on molecular spin qubits.
The grant will fund her project titled Probing Fundamental Magneto-structural Properties of Vanadyl Porphyrins as Molecular Spin Qubits. The two-year study will explore the magnetic properties of molecular qubit candidates, molecules that could one day be used to store and process information in quantum computers.
“I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to expand this project and to introduce a new interdisciplinary area of research to my lab,” Lockart said. “I am especially grateful for the support that makes it possible to involve students directly in this emerging field.”
Lockart’s work combines principles of chemistry, physics and information science, offering Samford students hands-on experience in an area at the forefront of modern research. The Petroleum Research Fund, administered by the American Chemical Society, provides support for fundamental research in the petroleum and energy fields and helps early-career scientists establish independent research programs.
The grant period will begin Sept. 1, 2026, and will run through Aug. 31, 2028.
By fostering faculty-student collaboration in advanced research, Samford continues to provide the kind of enriching academic experiences that recently earned it a place among the top 10 universities in the nation for learning opportunities, according to The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S.
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