Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science Experimentalist

Study shows how light can transform an insulating material into a semimetal

May 14, 2024

Overview of the electronic band structure of TiSe2 in equilibrium and after excitation.

The elements in the periodic table are divided into metals, semimetals and non-metals. The distinction is based on their chemical and physical properties and is determined, in particular, by the movement of electrons and the materials' ability to conduct electrical energy: metals are excellent conductors, semimetals have...

Spin ripples in a magnetic pond

February 6, 2024

diagram of ripples in a magnetic pond

The Joe Orenstein Group has published their findings on antiferromagnetic spin wavepackets in Nature Physics.

The spin of the electron is Nature’s perfect quantum bit, capable of extending the range of information storage beyond “one” or “zero.” Consequently, exploiting the electron...

Scientists visualize electron crystals in a quantum superposition

April 11, 2024

two sites of a graphene lattice

Illustration of two sites of graphene lattice. Credit: Image courtesy of the researchers

Princeton scientists are using innovative techniques to visualize electrons in graphene, a single atomic layer of carbon atoms. They are finding that strong interactions between electrons in high magnetic fields drive them to form unusual crystal-like structures similar to...

Alp Sipahigil

Assistant Professor

Alp Sipahigil is the Ping & Amy Chao Family Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He has joint appointments as a Faculty Scientist at the Materials Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a supporting appointment at UC Berkeley Physics.

He leads the Berkeley Quantum Devices Group which focuses on solid-state device research to advance quantum computation, communication and sensing. His group studies a wide range of physical systems including superconducting quantum circuits, color...

New Technique Lets Scientists Create Resistance-Free Electron Channels

April 9, 2024

Chiral interface state wavefunction image

STM image of a chiral interface state wavefunction (bright stripe) in a QAH insulator made from twisted monolayer-bilayer graphene in a 2D device.
Credit: Canxun Zhang/Berkeley Lab

An international research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has taken the first atomic-resolution images and demonstrated...

Zi Qiang Qiu

Professor

Zi Qiang Qiu received his BS in 1984 from the physics department of Peking UniversityHe went to the graduate school of the ...

Robert Birgeneau

Arnold and Barbara Silverman Distinguished Professor of Physics, Materials Science and Engineering, and Public Policy, Chancellor Emeritus

Professor Birgeneau received his Ph.D. in Physics from Yale University in 1966 with Professor Werner Wolf. He was on the faculty of Yale for one year and then spent one year at Oxford University. He was at Bell Laboratories from 1968 to 1975 and then went to MIT in September 1975 as Professor of Physics. In 1988 he became head of the department and in 1991 became Dean of Science at MIT. In 2000, he became President of the University of Toronto. In 2004 he became UC Berkeley’s Chancellor and joined the Physics faculty. He concluded his service as Chancellor at the end of May 2013 and is now...

Feng Wang

Professor

Feng Wang received a B.A. from Fudan University, Shanghai, in 1999 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2004. From 2005-2007, he has been a Miller Fellow with Miller Institute for Basic Science at Berkeley. He joined the physics faculty in fall, 2007.

Research Interests

We are interested in light-matter interaction in condensed matter physics, with an emphasis on novel physical phenomena emerging in nanoscale structures and at surfaces/interfaces. When electrons and phonons are confined in nanometer scale or at surface/interfaces, they respond differently to external stimuli. We...

Eric Y. Ma

Assistant Professor

Eric Y. Ma received his B.S. in Physics from Peking University in 2010 and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 2016. He stayed at Stanford as a joint postdoctoral scholar in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering. He was also briefly Senior Scientist at Apple. In July 2021 Dr. Ma joined UC Berkeley full-time as Assistant Professor in Physics and by courtesy EECS, and currently holds the Georgia Lee Chair in Physics.

Research Interests

Most practical phenomena, except those related to nuclear reactions, can be well described by atomic nuclei and electrons...

Alessandra Lanzara

Professor, Charles Kittel Chair in Physics

Alessandra Lanzara received her PhD in physics from Universita’ di Roma La Sapienza, Italy in 1999. She was a postdoc at Stanford University for three years since 1999. In 2002 she joined the physics Department faculty at UC Berkeley as Assistant Professor and since 2011 she is a Full Professor. She is also a Senior Faculty Scientist at the Materials Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2002.

She is recipient of many prizes among which was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2008 and elected to the American Academy of Art and Science in...