Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science - Materials Science

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Highlights

Mohammad Mirhosseini Receives 2023 AFOSR Young Investigator Research Program Award

12-15-22

Mohammad Mirhosseini, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, has received a 2023 YIP award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) for his project titled "Quantum Computing-Encoding Bosonic Quibits in Long-Lived Phonons." 

Tags: APhMS EE honors Mohammad Mirhosseini

Marc-Aurele Nicolet (1929–2022)

12-14-22

Marc-Aurele Nicolet, professor of electrical engineering and applied physics, emeritus, passed away on December 6. He was 93 years old. [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS EE Marc-Aurele Nicolet

Caltech Optics Ranked #1 by US News & World Report

12-05-22

Caltech ranks number one in Optics in the US News and World Report ranking. The study of optics deals with the genesis and propagation of light, the changes that it undergoes and produces, and other phenomena closely associated with it.

Tags: APhMS EE

Wei Gao Receives US National Academy of Medicine Catalyst Award

12-05-22

Wei Gao, Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering; Investigator, Heritage Medical Research Institute; Ronald and JoAnne Willens Scholar, has received the 2022 US National Academy of Medicine Catalyst Award in the Healthy Longevity Global Competition. The Global Competition is part of a larger initiative to fuel a worldwide movement to help improve physical, mental, and social well-being for people as they age, known as the Healthy Longevity Global Grand Challenge.

Tags: APhMS honors MedE Wei Gao

New Process Allows 3-D Printing of Microscale Metallic Parts

12-01-22

Engineers at Caltech have developed a method for 3-D printing pure and multicomponent metals, at a resolution that is, in some cases, an order of magnitude smaller than previously possible. "We had to develop a new way of doing it, and we couldn't rely on heat to build our structures," says Max Saccone. [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights MedE MCE MCE Julia Greer Max Saccone Rebecca Gallivan Daryl Yee Kai Narita

Professor John Sader Elected to the Australian Academy of Science

11-30-22

John Sader, Research Professor of Aerospace and Applied Physics, has been elected to the Australian Academy of Science. Sader developed pioneering measurement techniques that revolutionized the characterization of materials using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The Sader Method is an international standard for AFM calibration, as is the Sader-Jarvis Method for atomically resolved AFM measurements.

Tags: APhMS honors GALCIT John Sader

Kerry Vahala Receives MPQ Distinguished Scholar Award

11-16-22

Kerry Vahala, Ted and Ginger Jenkins Professor of Information Science and Technology and Applied Physics; Executive Officer for Applied Physics and Materials Science, receives the MPQ Distinguished Scholar award in recognition of his "pioneering scientific work in the field of nonlinear optics and photonics with microresonators." The award is presented to particularly outstanding scientists on the recommendation of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) Board of Directors. 

Tags: APhMS honors Kerry Vahala

New Theory of Electron Spin to Aid Quantum Devices

11-10-22

Marco Bernardi, Professor of Applied Physics, Physics and Materials Science; Jinsoo Park, Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate in Applied Physics and Materials Science, and graduate student Yao Luo, have developed a new theory and numerical calculations to predict spin decoherence in materials with high accuracy. [Caltech story]

Tags: research highlights alumni Marco Bernardi Jinsoo Park Yao Luo Jin-Jian Zhou

Emerging Metal 3D Printing Technology from Caltech: Hydrogel Infusion

10-28-22

Caltech has been doing interesting work in 3D printing for a number of years now, especially Professor Julia Greer and the Greer Group. The team works in hierarchical, nano, battery and other new materials, as well as processes for 3D printing. One novel area that the team have been doing exploring over the years is related to hydrogel derived materials. [Read full story]

Tags: APhMS research highlights MedE Julia Greer

Beaming Clean Energy From Space

10-26-22

Once considered science fiction, technology capable of collecting solar power in space and beaming it to Earth to provide a global supply of clean and affordable energy is moving closer to reality. Through the Space-based Solar Power Project (SSPP), a team of Caltech researchers is working to deploy a constellation of modular spacecraft that collect sunlight, transform it into electricity, then wirelessly transmit that electricity wherever it is needed—including to places that currently have no access to reliable power. "This is an extraordinary and unprecedented project," says Harry Atwater, Otis Booth Leadership Chair, Division of Engineering and Applied Science; Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science; Director, Liquid Sunlight Alliance. "It exemplifies the boldness and ambition needed to address one of the most significant challenges of our time, providing clean and affordable energy to the world." [Caltech story]

Tags: APhMS EE research highlights MedE MCE Harry Atwater Ali Hajimiri Sergio Pellegrino