Adriana Lita

Adriana Eleni Lita is a Romanian materials scientist who is a member of the faint photonics group at National Institute of Standards and Technology. She works on fabrication and development of single-photon detectors such as transition-edge sensors and superconducting nanowire single-photon detector devices.

Life
Lita earned a B.S. in physics from the University of Bucharest. She completed a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at University of Michigan in 2000. Her dissertation was titled Correlation between microstructure and surface structure evolution in polycrystalline films. Lita's doctoral advisor was John E. Sanchez, Jr.

In 2003, Lita joined the faint photonics group at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Boulder. She works on fabrication and development of single-photon detectors such as transition-edge sensors (TES) and superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) devices. Her work includes development of record high quantum efficiency TES devices optimized at various wavelengths from UV to near IR, integration of TES with optical waveguides platforms for photonic circuits, as well as materials development for SNSPDs. Her research has included Bell test experiments and the practical implementation of quantum key distribution. In 2021, Lita was awarded the Department of Commerce Silver Medal.