The group is engaged in theoretical and computational research in materials and nanostructures, aiming to elucidate atomic-scale properties in the context of available experimental data. At Vanderbilt, extensive collaborations with experimentalists including …
- Ron Schrimpf, Dan Fleetwood, and Robert Reed (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) on defect dynamics that underlie radiation-induced phenomena and on reliability issues in semiconductor devices (Si and III-V devices, carbon-based and 2D devices). A MURI multi-university program on device reliability of III-V HEMTs is on-going with participants from University of California Santa Barbara, MIT, the Ohio State University, and University of Bristol.
- Kirill Bolotin (Physics) and his group on two-dimensional materials and structures
- Richard Haglund (Physics) and his group on optical properties, phase transitions, and other phenomena in phase-changing materials
- Yia-Qong Xu (Physics/Electrical Engineering) and her group on graphene
- Janet Macdonald (Chemistry) and her group on investigations of nanoparticles
A second major collaborative program is ongoing with researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 1995 (Pantelides spends one day per week there, on average) including …
- Steve Pennycook and his microscopy group: this collaboration combines theory and scanning transmission electron microscopy to study atomic-scale structures and electronic and magnetic properties of complex systems – semiconductors, superconductors, ceramics, transition-metal oxides, interfaces, two-dimensional materials and nanoparticles. Students and post-docs doing both theory and/or microscopy reside at ORNL.
- Xiaoguang Zhang and two resident post-docs we explore space-charge limited currents and capture/emission of carriers in semiconductor devices.
Funding comes several sources including DOE, ONR, DTRA, Samsung Corp. and the NSF which also supports outreach workshops for high school teachers in NW PA.