Description of Research Area
My current research interests encompass two areas that are currently of great interest in condensed matter physics.  The first is in strongly correlated electron systems including the high temperature superconductors.  This field is currently considered one of the most important problems in condensed matter physics because it has been recognized that these materials may represent a breakdown of the standard paradigm for the understanding of metals that has dominated materials science for more than 50 years.  Research in this area has dominated the efforts of many of the elite condensed matter scientists for more than a decade. In addition I have a research program in magnetic transition metal oxides – the Colossal Magneto-Resistance (CMR) materials - which is another example of strongly interacting electron systems.  This research is part of a collaborative MRSEC program supported by the NSF.  It involves both on campus and off campus researchers.  The second major program is research on the foundations of a computer technology based on quantum physics – quantum computers and quantum communication.  This is a large collaborative effort involving several research groups on and off campus.  My research involves using optical techniques to probe semiconductor quantum dots as candidates for the qubit of a quantum computer.

Possible Projects:
Contact Professor

Course and other Prerequisites: E&M; interest in experimental physics

Past Project Successes:

• Max Cubillos-Moraga
• Geoffrey Evans