Although current physics theories successfully explain nearly all laboratory experiments carried out to date, they cannot account for key properties of the universe as determined from astrophysics. For instance, the observed structure of the universe can only be explained through the existence of dark matter—a form of matter that is fundamentally different from atoms, and which has never been detected on Earth because it interacts only extremely weakly with regular matter. In addition, although gravity has been studied for hundreds of years, gravitational forces between microscopic particles that obey the laws of quantum mechanics have never been measured, and theories of gravity may need to be modified in the quantum realm. In this work, the research team will develop new types of force sensors that may allow detection of the tiny forces imparted by dark matter, or from gravity between microscopic particles. Students and postdocs participating in this work will be trained in advanced quantum sensing techniques and will work with the PI to teach a hands-on summer program for local high school students about physics in their everyday lives and connections to state-of-the-art research. This research program will employ arrays of micro- and nano-particles trapped in ultra-high vacuum as sensitive force sensors for searches for physics beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The research team will use these particle arrays to search for dark matter that primarily inter