School of Physics (SoP): Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 967
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Leveraging Nonlinear Dynamics in Mechanical and Electromechanical Structures
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-11-04)This talk will review some of our recent and ongoing efforts on the leveraging of nonlinear dynamics in passive and active structures, spanning from nonlinear energy harvesting using piezoelectric smart structures to ... -
Frustrated Magnetism and Searching For Quantum Spin Liquid Phases in Novel Materials
In my research, I wish to classify and identify a possible Quantum Spin-Liquid (QSL) phase on novel quantum materials. Materials of interest include the two triangular lattice materials, Li4CoTeO6 and Li4NiTeO6, in which ... -
Self-propelled topological defects
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-10-26)Active materials such as bacteria, molecular motors and eukaryotic cells continuously transform chemical energy taken from their surroundings to mechanical work. Dense active matter shows mesoscale turbulence, the emergence ... -
Superconductivity: There's Plenty of Cream at the Bottom
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-10-19)In 1961, Brian Pippard gave a speech at IBM called "The Cat and the Cream", in which he declared that the superconductivity field was finished, at least for "young innocents who wish to break new ground": the cream was ... -
A Mind Over Matter: The Life and Science of Philip W. Anderson
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-10-12)Dr. Zangwill presents a biographical survey of the life and science of Nobel Laureate Philip W. Anderson, arguably the most productive and influential theoretical physicist of the second half of the twentieth century. He ... -
Recipe for a Habitable Planet
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-09-21)The discovery of numerous small exoplanets has brought the search for life beyond the Solar System into sharp focus on many potentially habitable worlds where life may exist. However, many factors and processes can affect ... -
Sloppy models, differential geometry, and why science works
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-09-28)Models of systems biology, climate change, ecology, complex instruments, and macroeconomics have parameters that are hard or impossible to measure directly. If we fit these unknown parameters, fiddling with them until they ... -
Comparative study of snake lateral undulation kinematics in model heterogeneous terrain dataset
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-09-24)Terrestrial organisms that use traveling waves to locomote must leverage heterogeneities to overcome drag on the elongate body. While previous studies illuminated how habitat generalist snakes self-deform to use rigid ... -
Stacking atomic layers: quest for new materials and physics
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-09-14)Modern electronics heavily rely on the technology to confine electrons in the interface layers of semiconductors. In recent years, scientists discovered that various atomically thin van der Waals (vdW) layered materials ... -
Universal bound states of two- and three-body quantum systems
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-07-27)When there is a low-energy resonance between two particles, the typical separation of physical length scales no longer holds, and quantum systems can form states that are much larger on average than the characteristic size ... -
Two-dimensional phases of silicon on silicon carbide
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-07-14)2D materials have been widely studied since single layer graphene, a 2D atomic honeycomb structure with unusual electronic properties, was obtained. Graphene grown on SiC by thermal decomposition is of interest because of ... -
Mechanics of fire ant aggregations: An experimental study of active matter
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-07-17)Fire ant aggregations are inherently active materials. Each ant converts its own stored energy into motion, and it is these motions that contribute to the bulk material properties of the aggregation. However, the level of ... -
Spatial interactions and eco-evolutionary games
Organisms compete for limited resources to reproduce. Reproduction depends on behaviors that are modified by abiotic and biotic factors, including the behavior of other organisms. This thesis adopts and extends evolutionary ... -
Revisiting and Repurposing the Double Helix
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-08-31)DNA is an iconic molecule that forms a double helical structure, providing the basis for genetic inheritance, and its physical properties have been studied for decades. In this talk, I will present evidence that sequence ... -
Emergent behavior in complicated systems: Tinnitus, smarticles, and metronomes
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-04-22)Patterns of behavior can arise in many body systems that are qualitatively different than that of the individual elements. In this dissertation, we explore emergent behaviors through three different projects. The first is ... -
Leakage mitigation and correction techniques for topological surface codes
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-03-16)A large scale quantum computer would be able to solve many problems that remain intractable for modern classical computers. In order to build such a machine, the quantum system must be protected from environmental influences ... -
Edge state characterization of epitaxial graphene nanoribbons and modifications of the electrical structure of buffer graphene after aluminum oxide deposition
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020-02-11)Graphene attracted a great deal of public interest because of its novel electrical characteristics, structural integrity, high electron mobility, and most important for my work, it was shown to be a room temperature ballistic ... -
Transforming the preparation of physics graduate teaching assistants
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-12-02)Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are key partners in the education of undergraduate students. In large-enrollment intro physics classes, students spend roughly half of their in-class hours in labs and recitations under ... -
Molecular transport into the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-01-15)This thesis details novel insights gleaned from the application of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to two protein systems, the $\beta$-barrel assembly machinery (BAM), and the lipopolysaccharide transport machinery ... -
Pushing the cell envelope: Simulations at the gram-negative cellular interface
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-01-15)Computational simulations of bacterial membrane systems were performed in silico using molecular dynamics to describe the function and interaction of integral, membrane-spanning proteins with their native environment. This ...