Left to right: Agham Posadas, Kristy Kormondy, Chungwei Lin, Andy O'Hara, Richard Hatch, Alex Slepko,
Hosung Seo, Patrick Ponath, Kurt Fredrickson, Miri Choi, Chandrima Mitra, Alex Demkov
Not present: Haixia Cao, David Sanz
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator, Prof. Alex Demkov
Office: RLM 13.206
Phone: (512) 471-8560
Fax: (512) 471-9637 About:
Alex Demkov is a professor of Physics at The University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1995 from Arizona State University (ASU). In 1995-1997, he was a postdoctoral researcher at ASU. In 1997-2005, he was a principal staff scientist in Motorola.s R&D organization providing theoretical support for the development of low- and high-k dielectric materials. In 2005, he joined the faculty of the Physics Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Prof. Demkov has published over 100 research papers and has been awarded seven U.S. patents. He has contributed to several books and edited one, entitled "Materials Fundamentals of Gate Dielectrics," and has also co-authored the 2005 edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). In 2002-2004, he served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B. He also served as Guest Editor for several issues of physica status solidi (b). He has organized numerous sessions and served on program committees of many national and international conferences. In 2009-2012 he served on the Executive Committee of the Forum of Industrial and Applied Physics of the American Physical Society (APS), and is currently serving on the APS Publication Oversight Committee. Demkov received the NSF CAREER award, 2011 IBM Faculty Award, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Office: RLM 13.206
Phone: (512) 471-8560
Fax: (512) 471-9637 About:
Alex Demkov is a professor of Physics at The University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1995 from Arizona State University (ASU). In 1995-1997, he was a postdoctoral researcher at ASU. In 1997-2005, he was a principal staff scientist in Motorola.s R&D organization providing theoretical support for the development of low- and high-k dielectric materials. In 2005, he joined the faculty of the Physics Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Prof. Demkov has published over 100 research papers and has been awarded seven U.S. patents. He has contributed to several books and edited one, entitled "Materials Fundamentals of Gate Dielectrics," and has also co-authored the 2005 edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). In 2002-2004, he served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B. He also served as Guest Editor for several issues of physica status solidi (b). He has organized numerous sessions and served on program committees of many national and international conferences. In 2009-2012 he served on the Executive Committee of the Forum of Industrial and Applied Physics of the American Physical Society (APS), and is currently serving on the APS Publication Oversight Committee. Demkov received the NSF CAREER award, 2011 IBM Faculty Award, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Current Members
Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Agham Posadas
Office: RLM 7.316
Phone: (512) 232-4242
E-mail
About:
Agham Posadas is managing the Oxide MBE lab at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Yale University in 2007, and his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering (in 1997) and B.S. in Applied Physics (in 1994) from the University of the Philippines. His prior scientific work includes bulk growth and characterization of high-Tc superconductors at the University of the Philippines, and fabrication of Si and SiGe heterostructures using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) as a research student at the University of Tokyo. At Yale, his Ph.D. research involved the growth and characterization of functional oxide thin films on semiconductors using both rf sputtering and MBE. He also has expertise in magnetic and transport measurements as well as in thin film crystallographic characterization using four-circle x-ray diffractometry. He joined the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 becoming one of the principal researchers in the new Materials Physics Laboratory headed by Prof. Demkov. He has co-authored over 20 research papers on various oxide thin film heterostructures and a chapter in a new textbook on ferroelectric materials.
Office: RLM 7.316
Phone: (512) 232-4242
About:
Agham Posadas is managing the Oxide MBE lab at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Yale University in 2007, and his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering (in 1997) and B.S. in Applied Physics (in 1994) from the University of the Philippines. His prior scientific work includes bulk growth and characterization of high-Tc superconductors at the University of the Philippines, and fabrication of Si and SiGe heterostructures using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) as a research student at the University of Tokyo. At Yale, his Ph.D. research involved the growth and characterization of functional oxide thin films on semiconductors using both rf sputtering and MBE. He also has expertise in magnetic and transport measurements as well as in thin film crystallographic characterization using four-circle x-ray diffractometry. He joined the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 becoming one of the principal researchers in the new Materials Physics Laboratory headed by Prof. Demkov. He has co-authored over 20 research papers on various oxide thin film heterostructures and a chapter in a new textbook on ferroelectric materials.
Postdoc, Dr. Chandrima Mitra
Office: RLM 7.316
Phone: (512) 232-4242
E-mail
About:
Chandrima joined the group in October, 2010 and her research mainly involves theoretical prediction of material properties from first-principles. She received her Ph.D., in Computational Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 2009 where she studied the properties of nitrides doped with magnetic rare-earth elements. She spent a year at the Max-Planck Institute in Dusseldörf, Germany, where she used a quasi-particle approach to accurately predict .band-offsets. in heterostructures. At UT Chandrima studies defects in oxides and structural and physical changes due to their presence. The other aspect of her research work includes the study of transition metal doped oxides in search of ferromagnetism in non-magnetic oxides.
Office: RLM 7.316
Phone: (512) 232-4242
About:
Chandrima joined the group in October, 2010 and her research mainly involves theoretical prediction of material properties from first-principles. She received her Ph.D., in Computational Physics from Case Western Reserve University in 2009 where she studied the properties of nitrides doped with magnetic rare-earth elements. She spent a year at the Max-Planck Institute in Dusseldörf, Germany, where she used a quasi-particle approach to accurately predict .band-offsets. in heterostructures. At UT Chandrima studies defects in oxides and structural and physical changes due to their presence. The other aspect of her research work includes the study of transition metal doped oxides in search of ferromagnetism in non-magnetic oxides.
Postdoc, Dr. Chungwei Lin
Office: RLM 7.208
Phone: (512) 232-7535
E-mail
About:
Chungwei joined Prof. Demkov.s group in August of 2011. His main interest is combining first-principles calculations and many-body techniques to understand the materials of interest. Chungwei received his Ph.D. in physics from the Columbia University in 2008, where he studied managanite superlattices using the dynamical mean field theory. From 2008-2011 as a postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh, he worked on problems of cold atom systems and on the self-assembly pattern of molecules on metal surface.
Office: RLM 7.208
Phone: (512) 232-7535
About:
Chungwei joined Prof. Demkov.s group in August of 2011. His main interest is combining first-principles calculations and many-body techniques to understand the materials of interest. Chungwei received his Ph.D. in physics from the Columbia University in 2008, where he studied managanite superlattices using the dynamical mean field theory. From 2008-2011 as a postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh, he worked on problems of cold atom systems and on the self-assembly pattern of molecules on metal surface.
Postdoc, Dr. Richard Hatch
Office: RLM 7.316
Phone: (512) 232-4242
Website
About:
Richard joined the Materials Physics Lab in August of 2012. He specializes in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments to measure electronic band structure, probe formation of electronic properties at interfaces, and study how many-body interactions and broken symmetry environment affect the electronic properties of materials. Richard received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010, where he studied organic semiconductors, by using molecular beam epitaxy, synchrotron radiation and ARPES. From 2010 to 2012 he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the ASTRID synchrotron in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Aarhus University in Denmark where he did similar studies on topological insulators and graphene.
Office: RLM 7.316
Phone: (512) 232-4242
Website
About:
Richard joined the Materials Physics Lab in August of 2012. He specializes in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments to measure electronic band structure, probe formation of electronic properties at interfaces, and study how many-body interactions and broken symmetry environment affect the electronic properties of materials. Richard received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010, where he studied organic semiconductors, by using molecular beam epitaxy, synchrotron radiation and ARPES. From 2010 to 2012 he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the ASTRID synchrotron in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Aarhus University in Denmark where he did similar studies on topological insulators and graphene.
Visiting Researcher, Dr. Haixia Cao (visiting from the Department of Physics, Soochow University, China)
Office:
Phone:
About:
Haixia Cao has joined the Demkov materials physics group in January of 2013 as a visiting scholar. She is an Associate Professor of Physics at Soochow University of P.R. China. She received her Ph.D. in condensed matter physics in 2005 from Soochow University. In 2005-2006, she was an associate researcher at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 2008, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Connecticut. She has published over 30 research papers on physical properties of ferroelectric and multiferroic materials. Her research work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Her current research is focused on electronic structure and magnetism of multiferroic materials using the ab initio pseudopotential density functional theory, giant electrocaloric effect of ferroelectric thin films, as well as dielectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric and electromechanical properties of functionally graded ferroelectric thin films.
Office:
Phone:
About:
Haixia Cao has joined the Demkov materials physics group in January of 2013 as a visiting scholar. She is an Associate Professor of Physics at Soochow University of P.R. China. She received her Ph.D. in condensed matter physics in 2005 from Soochow University. In 2005-2006, she was an associate researcher at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 2008, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Connecticut. She has published over 30 research papers on physical properties of ferroelectric and multiferroic materials. Her research work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Her current research is focused on electronic structure and magnetism of multiferroic materials using the ab initio pseudopotential density functional theory, giant electrocaloric effect of ferroelectric thin films, as well as dielectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric and electromechanical properties of functionally graded ferroelectric thin films.
Graduate Student, Alexander Slepko
Office: RLM 7.204
Phone: (512) 232-7588
E-mail
About:
Alex joined the group in September 2007 after finishing his Vordiplom in physics at the University of Ulm, Germany. At UT Alex studies theoretically silicide contact materials to MOSFET, electronic transport including impurity scattering and the electron-phonon interactions. Recently, he started studying the biomaterial hydroxyapatite that has applications in orthopedics. He investigated bulk and surface properties, and interfaces with water and TiO2. In 2012 Alex was awarded a Graduate Summer Internship at Intel Corporation. His work on transport in metals performed at Intel received the 2013 Ken Hass Outstanding Student Paper Award of the forum on Industrial and Applied Physics of the American Physical Society.
Office: RLM 7.204
Phone: (512) 232-7588
About:
Alex joined the group in September 2007 after finishing his Vordiplom in physics at the University of Ulm, Germany. At UT Alex studies theoretically silicide contact materials to MOSFET, electronic transport including impurity scattering and the electron-phonon interactions. Recently, he started studying the biomaterial hydroxyapatite that has applications in orthopedics. He investigated bulk and surface properties, and interfaces with water and TiO2. In 2012 Alex was awarded a Graduate Summer Internship at Intel Corporation. His work on transport in metals performed at Intel received the 2013 Ken Hass Outstanding Student Paper Award of the forum on Industrial and Applied Physics of the American Physical Society.
Graduate Student, Hosung Seo
Office: RLM 7.204
Phone: (512) 232-7588
Website
About:
Hosung came to Austin and joined the research group of Professor Demkov in the fall of 2008. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics from Seoul National University in Korea and Northwestern University, respectively. Hosung has been working on first-principles modeling of epitaxial complex oxide heterostructures. his research projects include epitaxial strain induced spin state transition in correlated LaCoO3, electronic structure of photocatalytic anatase TiO2/SrTiO3 and CoO/SrTiO3 (001) heterostructures integrated on Si (001), and polar LaAlO3 (001) surface stabilization by surface defects. Currently, he is interested in simulations and interpretation of X-ray core level spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of semiconductors and insulators from first-principles. He received the Young Scientist Award at the PCSI-39 Conference and the William Powers Jr. Dissertation Fellowship from UT.
Office: RLM 7.204
Phone: (512) 232-7588
Website
About:
Hosung came to Austin and joined the research group of Professor Demkov in the fall of 2008. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics from Seoul National University in Korea and Northwestern University, respectively. Hosung has been working on first-principles modeling of epitaxial complex oxide heterostructures. his research projects include epitaxial strain induced spin state transition in correlated LaCoO3, electronic structure of photocatalytic anatase TiO2/SrTiO3 and CoO/SrTiO3 (001) heterostructures integrated on Si (001), and polar LaAlO3 (001) surface stabilization by surface defects. Currently, he is interested in simulations and interpretation of X-ray core level spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of semiconductors and insulators from first-principles. He received the Young Scientist Award at the PCSI-39 Conference and the William Powers Jr. Dissertation Fellowship from UT.
Graduate Student, Miri Choi
Office: RLM 7.208
Phone: (512) 232-7535
E-mail
About:
Miri Choi has joined the Physics Department at the University of Texas at Austin as a graduate student in 2008 after receiving her B.S. in Chemistry and MS in physics from the Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea. She works on epitaxial growth of oxide-semiconductor heterostructures using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and on the characterization and understanding of interface and surface properties in these systems. She is also working on a project to connect the oxide MBE chamber to a low temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscope.
Office: RLM 7.208
Phone: (512) 232-7535
About:
Miri Choi has joined the Physics Department at the University of Texas at Austin as a graduate student in 2008 after receiving her B.S. in Chemistry and MS in physics from the Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea. She works on epitaxial growth of oxide-semiconductor heterostructures using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and on the characterization and understanding of interface and surface properties in these systems. She is also working on a project to connect the oxide MBE chamber to a low temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscope.
Graduate Student, Kurt Fredericksen
Office: RLM 7.202
Phone: (512) 232-7573
Website
About:
Kurt Fredrickson arrived at the University of Texas at Austin in Fall 2009 after finishing his B.S. in Physics from the University of California, Davis, and joined the research group of Professor Alex Demkov in the summer of 2010. His current research includes oxide surfaces and heterostructures, with an emphasis on ferroelectric materials. Current and past research includes density functional theory studies of polarization and energy barriers of BaTiO3/Pt superlattices, ferromagnetic and spin-transfer effects in EuO/Pt superstructures, and wetting conditions for BaTiO3/Ge interfaces, with an emphasis on collaboration of theory and experiment.
Office: RLM 7.202
Phone: (512) 232-7573
Website
About:
Kurt Fredrickson arrived at the University of Texas at Austin in Fall 2009 after finishing his B.S. in Physics from the University of California, Davis, and joined the research group of Professor Alex Demkov in the summer of 2010. His current research includes oxide surfaces and heterostructures, with an emphasis on ferroelectric materials. Current and past research includes density functional theory studies of polarization and energy barriers of BaTiO3/Pt superlattices, ferromagnetic and spin-transfer effects in EuO/Pt superstructures, and wetting conditions for BaTiO3/Ge interfaces, with an emphasis on collaboration of theory and experiment.
Graduate Student, Andy O'Hara
Office: RLM 7.202
Phone: (512) 232-7573
Website
About:
Andy started at the University of Texas at Austin in the Fall of 2009 after receiving his B. S. in Physics and Mathematics from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He joined the Demkov group in the Fall of 2010 working on first-principles modeling of novel materials related to the 122 FeAs superconductors and metal-oxide interfaces of importance to reversible dielectric breakdown in ReRAM applications. Some of his current research interests include structural properties and reversible phase transitions in transition metal oxides with potential technological applications.
Office: RLM 7.202
Phone: (512) 232-7573
Website
About:
Andy started at the University of Texas at Austin in the Fall of 2009 after receiving his B. S. in Physics and Mathematics from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He joined the Demkov group in the Fall of 2010 working on first-principles modeling of novel materials related to the 122 FeAs superconductors and metal-oxide interfaces of importance to reversible dielectric breakdown in ReRAM applications. Some of his current research interests include structural properties and reversible phase transitions in transition metal oxides with potential technological applications.
Graduate Student, Patrick Ponath
Office: RLM 7.202
Phone: (512) 232-7573
E-mail
About:
In 2010 Patrick received his B.Sc. in physics from the Julius-Maximilians-University of Wuerzburg, graduated with a MA in physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 and joined the group in 2012. Currently, he is doing research on the epitaxial growth of barium titanate (BaTiO3) on germanium substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. Additional spectroscopic and diffraction measurements are carried out to determine the quality and polarization of the ferroelectric BaTiO3 films. In conjunction with germanium, BaTiO3 is an excellent candidate for a ferroelectric field effect transistor with applications in nonvolatile logic and memory devices.
Office: RLM 7.202
Phone: (512) 232-7573
About:
In 2010 Patrick received his B.Sc. in physics from the Julius-Maximilians-University of Wuerzburg, graduated with a MA in physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 and joined the group in 2012. Currently, he is doing research on the epitaxial growth of barium titanate (BaTiO3) on germanium substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. Additional spectroscopic and diffraction measurements are carried out to determine the quality and polarization of the ferroelectric BaTiO3 films. In conjunction with germanium, BaTiO3 is an excellent candidate for a ferroelectric field effect transistor with applications in nonvolatile logic and memory devices.
Graduate Student, Kristy Kormondy
Office: RLM 7.208
Phone: (512) 232-7535
Website
About:
Kristy Kormondy joined the Physics Department at the University of Texas at Austin as a graduate student in 2011 after receiving her B.S. in physics from the University of Central Florida. Her current research focuses on epitaxial growth of perovskites on vicinal surfaces. Even nominally flat surfaces have steps, and these steps can influence the growth and quality of deposited films. Using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and other methods, Kristy investigates the ways in which the finite terraces resulting from intentional miscut of the Si (100) surface affect the growth kinetics and film characteristics of SrTiO3.
Office: RLM 7.208
Phone: (512) 232-7535
Website
About:
Kristy Kormondy joined the Physics Department at the University of Texas at Austin as a graduate student in 2011 after receiving her B.S. in physics from the University of Central Florida. Her current research focuses on epitaxial growth of perovskites on vicinal surfaces. Even nominally flat surfaces have steps, and these steps can influence the growth and quality of deposited films. Using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and other methods, Kristy investigates the ways in which the finite terraces resulting from intentional miscut of the Si (100) surface affect the growth kinetics and film characteristics of SrTiO3.
Graduate Student, David Sanz
Office:
Phone:
About:
David came to the University of Texas at Austin in the Fall of 2011 after completing his B.S. in Engineering Physics from the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Monterrey, Mexico. He joined the Demkov group in the Spring of 2013. He is interested in condensed matter theory.
Office:
Phone:
About:
David came to the University of Texas at Austin in the Fall of 2011 after completing his B.S. in Engineering Physics from the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Monterrey, Mexico. He joined the Demkov group in the Spring of 2013. He is interested in condensed matter theory.
Demkov Group Alumni
Graduate Student, Lukas Schlipf
Masters, 2012
Research:
Thesis on the "Growth and Characterization of the Zintl-phase of SrAl4 on LaAlO3."
Masters, 2012
Research:
Thesis on the "Growth and Characterization of the Zintl-phase of SrAl4 on LaAlO3."
Graduate Student, Jaekwang Lee
Ph.D., 2010
Research:
Physics of Oxide Heterostructures
Currently a Postdoc at Vanderbilt University / ORNL
Ph.D., 2010
Research:
Physics of Oxide Heterostructures
Currently a Postdoc at Vanderbilt University / ORNL
Graduate Student, Xuhui Luo
Ph.D., 2010
Research:
Structural phase transitions in Hafnia and Zirconia
Currently at CGGVeritas, previously a postdoc at NIST.
Ph.D., 2010
Research:
Structural phase transitions in Hafnia and Zirconia
Currently at CGGVeritas, previously a postdoc at NIST.
Postdoc, Dr. Na Sai
2006-2009
Research
Currently a Postdoc at ICES / Sandia
Office: ACES 4.318
Phone: (512) 232-2397
2006-2009
Research
Currently a Postdoc at ICES / Sandia
Office: ACES 4.318
Phone: (512) 232-2397
Graduate Student, Onise Sharia
Ph.D., 2008
Research:
The electronic properties of Hafnia interfaces
Currently a Postdoc at The University of Maryland
Ph.D., 2008
Research:
The electronic properties of Hafnia interfaces
Currently a Postdoc at The University of Maryland
Graduate Student, Manish Niranjan
Ph.D., 2007
Research:
Theoretical investigation of silicide alloys
Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at IIT, Hyderabad
Ph.D., 2007
Research:
Theoretical investigation of silicide alloys
Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at IIT, Hyderabad
Graduate Student, Hendrik Bentmann
MS., 2007
Research:
Properties of PtSi thin films
Currently a graduate student at Würzburg University
MS., 2007
Research:
Properties of PtSi thin films
Currently a graduate student at Würzburg University
Postdoc, Dr. Nikolai Serqueev
2005-2008
Research:
Electron-Phonon interactions and charge transfer in molecular systems
Currently a staff scientist at USC Computational Research & Cyber Infrastructure Support Initiative
2005-2008
Research:
Electron-Phonon interactions and charge transfer in molecular systems
Currently a staff scientist at USC Computational Research & Cyber Infrastructure Support Initiative
Postdoc, Dr. Euvgeni Chagarov
Graduate student at Motorola Labs, Tempe, Arizona 2001-2003
Currently a research scientist in Prof. Andrew C. Kummel's group at the University of California, San Diego
Graduate student at Motorola Labs, Tempe, Arizona 2001-2003
Currently a research scientist in Prof. Andrew C. Kummel's group at the University of California, San Diego
Postdoc, Dr. Xiaodong Zhang
Postdoc at Motorola Labs, Tempe, Arizona 2000-2002
Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Physics at the MD Anderson Cancer Research Center, Houston, Texas
Postdoc at Motorola Labs, Tempe, Arizona 2000-2002
Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Physics at the MD Anderson Cancer Research Center, Houston, Texas