Research Topics
Our department is particularly interested in two of the Big Ideas that drive the National Science Foundation’s long-term research agenda: The Quantum Leap: Leading the next Quantum Revolution and Harnessing Data for 21st Century Science and Engineering. Our faculty are also pursuing the following transformative opportunities for discovery science, identified by the Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences: Harnessing Coherence in Light and Matter; Revolutionary Advances in Models, Mathematics, Algorithms, Data, and Computing; and Exploiting Transformative Advances in Imaging Capabilities across Multiple Scales.
In recent years, through synergies between experiment, materials science, theory, and advanced computation, our faculty have been driving research excellence and producing high-profile publications in the following key areas:
- Superconducting, Magnetic, Topological and Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials
- Super-hard Materials for Industry and Biomedical Applications
- Novel Lasers and their Applications
- Emerging Materials for Energy and Optoelectronic Technologies
- Non-equilibrium Quantum Materials Design Using Ultra-short Laser Fields
- Zero-and One-Dimensional Nanocomposites and Functional Structures
- Composite and Hybrid Materials
- High-Pressure and Nano-materials Research under Extreme Conditions
- Nanostructured Biomaterials
- Functional Defects in Advanced Materials
- Computational X-ray Science and Condensed Matter Physics
- Theory & Computation of Laser-driven Quantum Dynamics
- Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Microscopy
- Spectroscopy and Laser Cooling
- High-performance Computing, Data-driven and Quantum Simulations of Materials Properties
Graduate and undergraduate student research is supported in the Department of Physics through external funding. This gives our undergraduates a unique opportunity and a competitive edge over their peers in other programs.