IRG 2: Controlling Electrons, Phonons, and Spins in Superatomic Materials

IRG2

ABOUT IRG2

IRG2 designs and synthesizes a new family of atomically precise, functional materials in which the fundamental units are preformed nanoscale building blocks, i.e., superatoms. This program is developing transformative and systematic methods to control the coupling between superatoms, enabling novel collective physical properties. Tuning the superatoms’ electronic, magnetic, vibrational, and symmetry characteristics through synthetic chemistry will allow the team to tackle three longstanding challenges in materials science: design of reconfigurable phase change materials; directional transport of energy, charge and spin; and emergent quantum phenomena.  These materials have applications in digital memory, as switches and switchable absorbers; and as materials with anisotropic phonon spectra, which are of interest for new photodetectors and field effect transistors.

PARTICIPANTS

Faculty Leads:  David Reichman, Xavier Roy

2025-2026 IRG Fellows: Malik Williams

Participating Researchers: Dmitri Basov, Timothy Berkelbach, Cory Dean, Milan Delor, Kim Lewis, Lauren Marbella, Colin Nuckolls, David Reichman, Xavier Roy, Xiaoyang Zhu

Funded Postdocs: Taketo Handa (Zhu), Julian Ingham (Queiroz, Zhu), Itai Keren (Basov/Pasupathy), Nischhal Verma (Queiroz), Malik Williams (Nuckolls), Michael Ziebel (Dean)

Graduate Students: Simon Blackhurst (Delor), Anna Champ (Nuckolls), Yinan Dong (Basov), Kevin Fleshman (Roy), Aracely Gonzalez (Nuckolls), Kelsey Harrison (Nuckolls), Nethmi Hewage (Roy), Palak Jariwala (Nuckolls), Andre Koch-Liston (Delor), Luke Lackovic (Nuckolls), Inki Lee (Delor), Emma Lian (Nuckolls), Eleanor Mackintosh (Berkelbach), Yoonseo Nah (Delor), Saya Okuno (Nuckolls), Daniel Ostrom (Pasupathy), Susie Park (Marbella), Morgan Thinel (Pasupathy), Jack Tulylag (Delor), Shu-Fay Ung (Reichman)

Undergraduate Students: Victoria Williams (Marbella)

PAST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Some of IRG2's key research findings include the following: