Materials & Nanoscience
The Hemley group explores the chemistry and physics of materials in extreme conditions up to multimegabar (>100 GPa) pressures using both experiments and computational theory. Current research is focused on transformations of hydrogen and hydrogen-rich materials at these pressures, work that has led to the discovery of room-temperature superconductivity; discovery of novel high-pressure compounds and pressure-induced chemical reactions; synthesis and characterization of new topological, magnetic, and superhard materials; earth and planetary materials, and implications for planetary interiors; and the molecular limits of life in extreme environments. The tools include diamond anvil cell micro-optical spectroscopies, synchrotron infrared spectroscopy, synchrotron x-ray diffraction and spectroscopies, neutron scattering, laser heating, magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity, and cryogenic methods, as well as high-pressure materials by design from first-principle computations.
The Jiang group focuses on applying scanning probe-based nanotechnology in nanostuctures design and properties investigation. They are interested in fundamental science and applications at the nano-scale, including charge transfer, electron localization and generation, photoabsorption and photoemission, which are at the heart of the next generation single-molecule devices.
The Král group focuses on the theoretical description of novel transport phenomena and material structures at the nanoscale, with rich potential applications. They are especially attracted by hybrid environments, present in nanofluidic and biological systems, self-assembled nanoparticle superlattices, etc., where the interplay between different types of materials, phases, dimensionalities, energies and timescales is crucial. The physical, chemical and biological aspects of the studied problems are evaluated in a concerted way.
The Snee group focuses on the study of energy transfer in semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs). They are interested in (1) constructing novel semiconductor nanocrystal material systems to engineer energy transfer processes, (2) developing imaging agents based on their NC constructs and (3) bandgap engineering of multilayered nanocrystalline materials.