Archived Newsletters

A Message from the Chair

The March Meeting 2018 is almost upon us. I would like to share some highlights of DMPorganized elements of this year’s outstanding program and to emphasize important upcoming deadlines for the March Meeting 2018 and other DMP activities.

DMP principally contributes to the March Meeting through the organization of Focus Topic sessions. Roughly 20% of the submitted abstracts to the March Meeting 2018 were submitted to DMP-led Focus Topics, and in this newsletter you will find links and details describing the numerous DMP sessions and events in Los Angeles. DMP is leading 20 Focus Topics and is cosponsoring 16 others, in addition to some invited sessions and a session on ‘Diversity and Inclusion in Graduate Education’, which leads to a total of 274 sessions. DMP also sponsors three invited sessions during the week, including the Monday afternoon prize session in which speak the recipients of the McGroddy Prize for new Materials, Rodney Ruoff, and the Adler Lectureship awardee, Chris Palmstrøm, in addition to the Edward E. Bouchet awardee, Miguel José Yacamán and the IUPAP C-10 Young Scientist Prize winner, Michele Ceriotti. Nitin Samarth has organized our annual "Physics for Everyone" symposium, which is taking place Wednesday midday, around the theme of "Physics of Life". Speaking will be Reka Albert on using networks to model cell behaviors, Danielle Bassett on the physics of brain network architecture, function and control, Nigel Goldenfeld on whether there is universality in biology, Simon Sponberg on emergent dynamics revealed in studies of insect locomotion, and Hernan Garcia on the physical biology of living embryos. The third invited session, being held on Thursday midday, recognizes recent progress in the concepts, materials and devices in neuromorphic computing. The speakers will be Mark Stiles on spintronic devices for neuromorphic computing, Shriram Ramanathan on quantum matter for artificial intelligence and brain sciences, Dmitri Strukov on analog neurocomputing with emerging memory devices, Staney Williams on nonlinear dynamics and imaging of current density and electric field bifurcations caused by electronic instabilities, and Daniele Ielminin on spiking neural networks with resistive-switching synapses for STDP-based unsupervised learning. I strongly encourage you to support our invited symposia and our Focus Topic sessions.

DMP will be recognizing our award winners and the new APS fellows nominated through DMP on Tuesday evening, March 6, from 5:30-7:00 at the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live, Platinum D. We also recognize the achievements of junior scientists through the Ovshinsky Travel Awards, the IUPAP C-10 Young Scientist Prize, and the Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Materials and Condensed Matter Physics. The annual DMP business meeting follows immediately after in the JW Marriott Platinum B room. Topics to be discussed in that meeting include the Focus Topics for the 2019 March meeting.

Now is the time to propose new Focus Topics for next year’s March meeting by contacting Nitin Samarth, who will be the DMP Program Chair for the 2019 March Meeting in Boston. A DMP focus topic provides a structure to gather contributed and invited talks together in a series of coordinated sessions that foster increased discussion on a specific area. Please send suggestions to Nitin Samarth following the instructions provided later in this Newsletter. Please consider suggesting invited speakers to these Focus Topics when the selections and organizers are announced; the Focus Topics are central to DMP’s role in the March meeting.

DMP recognizes major accomplishments in materials physics through the David Adler Lectureship Award and the James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials. Please consider advancing a deserving colleague for one of these prestigious awards. Application packages are due June 1, 2018. See the APS Prizes, Awards and Fellows pages for details of the nomination processes.

New APS Fellowship nominations to DMP are due May 1, 2018. Toni Taylor, recently elected to begin her term as Vice-Chair of DMP following the March Meeting, will chair the selection process.

None of these activities happen without the contribution of an army of volunteers, including Focus Topic organizers and the DMP Executive Committee. I would like to thank Amanda Petford-Long, the DMP Program Chair for the 2018 March Meeting, for her efforts; you can see the results in the outstanding program of talks and sessions assembled for this year’s meeting. In my role, I would have been lost without the advice and example of Michael Flatté, the DMP Past Chair, who will be rotating off the DMP Executive Committee. My thanks to Michael, and also to Sam Bader, DMP Councilor, who represented the perspective of materials physics at the APS Council, and also to the DMP ExComm Members-at-Large who are completing their terms, Peter Gehring and John Singleton, who provided invaluable contributions to the Focus Topic organization. I would also like to welcome the new members of the DMP Executive Committee, Vice-Chair-elect Toni Taylor, and Members at Large, Judith Yang and James Rondinelli.

It has been an honor to serve as DMP Chair this past year, and I thank all of you for the opportunity.

Dan Dessau, DMP Chair

Call for DMP Focus Session Topics for the 2019 APS March Meeting

(March 4-8, 2019 in Boston)

The Division of Materials Physics sponsors a wide range of Focus Topics as its primary structure for the March Meeting. Typically spanning several sessions throughout the March Meeting, Focus Topics allow an in-depth view of forefront materials physics research areas and connect invited speakers to associated contributed abstracts.

Each year, the existing set of Focus Topics is evaluated for inclusion in the next year's program. In addition, new candidates for Focus Topics are considered based on timeliness, an assessment of the community interest, and uniqueness with the existing DMP program and those of sister units. Ideas coming from the DMP community at large are an extremely important part of this process.

To that end, the DMP Executive Committee solicits your input for the 2019 Focus Topic slate. New Focus Topics should represent a significant topic that would support 3 or more March Meeting sessions (each session typically includes 1 invited talk and 12 related contributed talks).

Please send proposed Focus Topics to DMP Secretary/Treasurer Charles Ahn by Monday, February 26, 2018 (late submissions will be considered if possible). Please include:

  • Descriptive Title of the Focus Topic
  • The nominator’s name, affiliation, phone number and e-mail address
  • A brief abstract noting timeliness and uniqueness of the topic relative to the existing program 
  • A description of the intended audience that supports the size and scope of a Focus Topic
  • Suggestions for possible organizers

Any additional information you would like to provide that will help the DMP Executive Committee in its decision-making process will be appreciated. For your reference, a complete list of the 2017 Focus Topics is included in this mailing. 

If you have any questions or would like assistance in the preparation of your proposal, please contact DMP Vice Chair Nitin Samarth.

Thank you in advance for your help in this extremely important part of planning for the future success of the DMP program.

Sincerely,

Nitin Samarth, DMP Vice Chair and 2019 Program Chair

Amanda Petford-Long, DMP Chair-Elect and 2018 Program Chair

DMP led Focus Topics for 2018

  • 7.1.1: Dielectric and Ferroic Oxides [Same as 11.1.1, 16.1.11]
  • 7.1.2: Topological Materials: Synthesis, Characterization, and Modeling
  • 7.1.3: Dirac and Weyl semimetals
  • 7.1.4: Organometal Halide Perovskites: Photovoltaics and Beyond
  • 7.1.5: 5D/4D Transition Metal Systems
  • 8.1.2: Dopants and Defects in Semiconductors [same as 16.1.12]
  • 9.1.1: Fe-based Superconductors {same as 16.1.13]
  • 9.1.2: Topological Superconductivity
  • 12.1.1: 2D Materials: Synthesis, Defects, Structure and Properties
  • 12.1.2: 2D Materials: Semiconductors [Same as 16.1.14]
  • 12.1.3: Devices from 2D Materials: Function, Fabrication and Characterization
  • 12.1.4: 2D Materials: Metals, Superconductors, and Correlated Materials
  • 12.1.5: Carbon Nanotubes and Related Materials: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications
  • 12.1.6: Van der Waals Bonding in Advanced Materials [same as 16.1.5]
  • 12.1.7: Computational Discovery and Design of Novel Materials [same as 16.1.10]
  • 13.1.1: Nanostructures and Metamaterials
  • 13.1.2: Electron, Exciton, and Heat Transport in Nanostructures
  • 13.1.3: Complex Oxide Interfaces and Heterostructures
  • 13.1.4: Materials for Post-Moore Computing
  • 13.1.5: Assembly and Behavior of Hierarchical Materials
  • 14.1.1: Surface Science of Organic Molecular Solids, Films, and Nanostructures

Changes to DMP Bylaws

A vote was conducted to change the DMP Bylaws. There were two objectives for these changes:

To align language in the DMP unit bylaws with the new APS corporate structure.

To streamline the DMP bylaws amendment process to allow special elections and ballots, and to align them with best practices of other units.

The DMP membership voted to change the bylaws as described on the APS website at

Bylaws Update

New Members of the Executive Committee

The following members were elected to serve on the DMP Executive Committee:

  • Vice Chair: Toni Taylor (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
  • Member at Large: James Rondinelli (Northwestern University)
  • Member at Large: Judith Yang (University of Pittsburgh)

We congratulate the new members of the Executive Committee and look forward to their participation and leadership.

DMP Executive Committee for 2018 - 2019

The Executive Committee Officers and Members-at-Large for the 2018-2019 year, (who begin their terms begin following the March Meeting):

Officers:

  • Chair: Amanda K Petford-Long, Argonne National Laboratory (04/18 - 03/19)
  • Chair-Elect: Nitin Samarth, Pennsylvania State University (04/18 - 03/19)
  • *Vice-Chair: Toni Taylor, Los Alamos National Laboratory (04/18 - 03/19)
  • Past Chair: Daniel S. Dessau, University of Colorado, Boulder (04/18 - 03/19)
  • Councilor: Samuel D. Bader, Argonne National Laboratory (01/17 - 12/20)
  • Secretary/Treasurer: Charles Ahn, Yale University (04/17 - 03/20) 

Members-at-Large:

  • Scott Chambers, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (04/16 - 03/19)
  • Michelle Johannes, Naval Research Laboratory (04/16 - 03/19)
  • Ezekiel Johnston-Halperin, The Ohio State University (04/17 - 03/20)
  • Ni Ni, University of California, Los Angeles (04/17 - 03/20)
  • *James Rondinelli, Northwestern University(04/18 - 03/21)
  • *Judith Yang, University of Pittsburgh (04/18 – 03/21)

*Newly elected

March Meeting: Location

The March Meeting 2018 of the APS will take place, March 5-9, in the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA. All scientific sessions will be in the Convention Center but events and activities may be in the Convention Center or the JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles. Check event details for time and place.

Further Information DMP Sponsored Sessions

Division of Materials Physics Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards

The Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards and Honorable Mention Awards have been established to assist the career of student researchers. The Awards are in memory of Iris and Stanford Ovshinsky who had a very strong interest and commitment to scientific education. The awards have been endowed by the Ovshinsky family, their colleagues at Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) companies and all their numerous friends from many social, intellectual and business relationships.

We are extremely grateful to the Ovshinsky family for this award. Since the original launch of the award, the family have provided further gifts to endow the awards.

The Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards will be presented at the DCMP/DMP New Fellows and Award Winners Reception, Tuesday, March 6, 5:30 p.m. at the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live, Platinum D.

The recipients of the 2018 Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards for Materials Physics are:

  • Kaveh Ahadi, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Raktima Basu, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, India
  • Dina Simone Bouma, University of California, Berkeley
  • Rose Cersonsky, University of Michigan
  • Hyejin Jang, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Mihir Pendharkar, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Saima Siddiqui, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Sobhit Singh, West Virginia University
  • Ryan Wu, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
  • Di Xiao, The Pennsylvania State University

The recipients of the 2018 Ovshinsky Student Travel Honorable Mention Awards for Materials Physics are:

  • David Kirk Lewis, Boston University
  • Paul Neves, University of Maryland, College Park
  • Silvia Pandolfi, IMPMC - Université Pierre et Marie Curie
  • Jimmy Shen, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Alexander Stern, University of California, Irvine
  • Steven Tran, University of Maryland, College Park
  • Wenbo Wang, Rutgers University
  • Jacob Wisser, Stanford University
  • Yu Yang, Arizona State University
  • Dawei Zhai, Ohio University
  • Rong Zhang, The University of Utah

Division of Materials Physics Post-Doctoral Travel Awards

The DMP Post-Doctoral Travel Awards have been established this year to recognize innovative materials physics research by Post-Doctoral researchers that will be presented at the APS March Meeting. The Awards are supported through the Division of Materials Physics.

The recipients will receive $800 Travel Awards to support participation in DMP Focus Topic sessions at the APS 2018 March Meeting sessions. The selection of the recipients of the DMP Post-Doctoral Travel Awards is based on the research quality, the impact of the research at the March Meeting and the innovative contribution of the post-doctoral researcher.

The DMP Post-Doctoral Travel Awards will be presented at the DCMP/DMP New Fellows and Award Winners Reception, Tuesday, March 6, 5:30 p.m. at the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live, Platinum D.

The recipients of the 2018 DMP Post-Doctoral Travel Awards are:

  • Chetan Dhital, Louisiana State University
  • Nasim Mohammadi Estakhri, University of Pennsylvania
  • Hong Fang, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Christopher Gutierrez, Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia
  • Matthew Jones, Boise State University
  • Amber McCreary, National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • Ongun Ozcelik, Princeton University
  • Yingying Peng, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Award and Prize Winners

James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials

Rodney S. Ruoff, IBC CMCM/UNIST
"For pioneering contributions to the scalable synthesis, materials science and applications of graphene and graphene derivatives.”

David Adler Lectureship Award

Christopher J. Palmstrøm, University of California-Santa Barbara
"For innovative experimental research, lectures, and writing in the areas of dissimilar materials epitaxy, heterostructures and interfaces in thin films."

IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in the Structure and Dynamics of Condensed Matter (C10)

Michele Ceriotti, EPFL

Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter or Materials Physics

Claire Donnelly, ETH Zurich-Paul Scherrer Institute
"Hard X-ray tomography of three-dimensional magnetic structures."
M.A. Mueed, Massachussets Institute of Technology
"Exotic Phases of Interacting Two-dimensional Carriers Using One-dimensional Density Modulation."

2017 APS Fellows nominated through DMP:

Christianson, Andy
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Citation: For contributions toward the understanding of the structure and dynamics of strongly correlated electron systems including: Fe-based superconductors, Kondo lattice systems, magnetoelectric materials, and osmium-based transition metal oxides using neutron scattering techniques.

Frenkel, Anatoly I
Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory
Citation: For seminal contributions to in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, transformative development of structural characterization methods for nanoparticles, and their pioneering applications to a broad range of functional nanomaterials in materials physics and catalysis science.

Fultz, Brent T
Caltech
Citation: For seminal experiments demonstrating the importance of vibrational entropy to the phase stability of materials and transformational leadership in the development of neutron scattering techniques.

Jena, Debdeep
Cornell University
Citation: For fundamental contributions to the physics and applications of electronic polarization in semiconductors, and to quantum and transport physics of two-dimensional crystals.

Lau, Chun Ning
The Ohio State University
Citation: For pioneering advances in the study of graphene and 2D materials, especially in the areas of quantum transport, thermal properties, and the investigation of novel phases.

McGuire, Michael A
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Citation: For major contributions in the development of structure-property relationships in functional energy materials including superconductors magnets, and thermoelectrics.

Musfeldt, Janice Lynn
University of Tennessee
Citation: For contributions to the spectroscopy of quantum materials with an emphasis on high magnetic field effects in multiferroics, quantum magnets, and nanomaterials.

Stach, Eric
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Citation: For development and application of in-situ and operando methods in materials research using transmission electron microscopy, entrepreneurial activity to commercialize these methods, and for sustained service to the community.

Terrones, Mauricio
Pennsylvania State University
Citation: For numerous contributions related to the synthesis of aligned carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoribbons, doped graphene, doped nanotubes, double-walled nanotubes, and dichalcogenide monolayers, and the understanding of defects in these systems using spectroscopic techniques.

Wang, Kang-Lung
University of California - Los Angeles
Citation: For pioneering nanoscale spintronics and magnetism and for discovering the giant topological spin orbit torque effect; for his leadership in improving nanoscale materials and properties for low dissipation electronics.

March Meeting: DMP Sponsored Symposia & Special Events

DMP Invited Symposia

  • C32. DMP Prize Session (Rodney S. Ruoff, McGroddy New Materials Prize; Christopher Palmstrøm, David Adler Lectureship Award, Miguel Yacaman, Edward A. Bouchet Award; Michele Ceriotti, IUPAP C-10 Young Scientist Prize)
  • L42. Physics of Life (Reka Albert, Danielle Bassett, Nigel Goldenfeld, Simon Sponberg, Hernan Garcia)
  • S41. Neuromorphic Systems: Concepts, Materials and Devices (Mark Stiles, Shriram Ramanathan, Dmitri Strukov, Stanley Williams, Daniele Ielmini)

Graduate Student Lunch with the Experts
Sponsoring Units: APS units at the meeting, Room: LACC West Hall B, Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at 12:00 p.m.

Students may sign up (in registration area) on site to enjoy a complimentary box-lunch while participating in an informal discussion with an expert on a topic of interest to them.

DMP Supported Tables include:

  • Chuck Fadley, University of California Davis/LBNL: “Looking into materials in new ways with photoemission
  • Ni Ni, Berkeley National Lab: Challenges and Opportunities for Women in Science
  • John Singleton, Los Alamaos National Lab: What can the world’s highest magnetic fields do for your material Or: Working in fundamental science in a national Lab (advice for early career scientists interested in national labs).
  • Vivien Zapf, Los Alamos National Lab: Quantum Materials and Multiferroics
  • Nathalie de Leon, Princeton University: Quantum defects in solids and How to get an academic job.

DCMP/DMP New Fellows & Award Winners Reception
Tuesday, March 6, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live, Platinum D.

DMP: McGroddy Prize, Adler Award, Greene Dissertation Awards, DMP Nominated APS Fellows, Ovshinksy Student Travel Awards, DMP Post-Doctoral Travel Awards.

DCMP: Buckley Prize, Onsager Prize, Lilienfeld Prize, Davisson-Germer Prize, Isakson Prize,

DCMP Nominated APS Fellows

DMP Business Meeting
Tuesday, March 6, 7:00 - 8:00pm, at the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live, Platinum B.

DMP Focus Topic Sessions:

DMP Sessions

March Meeting: Pre-Meeting Workshops

DPOLY Short Course on The Gel, Elastomer and Network Experience (GENE)
Saturday, March 3, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Sunday, March 4, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

GSOFT Short Course on Machine Learning and Data Science in Soft Matter
Sunday, March 4, 8:30 am - 6:00 pm

DBIO Short Course on Physics Meets Robotics: Hands-On Locomotion Robophysics
Sunday, March 4, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

GERA and FECS Energy Research Workshop
Sunday, March 4, 8:30 am - 5:30 pm

Finding Your Scientific Voice: Improving Your March Meeting Presentation
Sunday, March 4, 9:30 am -12:30pm, or 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Professional Skills Development Seminar for Undergraduate and Graduate Women
Sunday, March 4, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

First-Time Attendee Orientation
Sunday, March 4, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm, JW Marriott, Atrium I

Official Tweetup
Sunday, March 4, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Prank Bar (1100 S Hope St, Los Angeles, CA 90015)

Undergraduate Student Get-Together
Sunday, March 4, 6:30 - 7:30 pm
JW Marriott, Plaza 1-2

March Meeting: Tutorials

Sunday, March 4

Morning Tutorials, Los Angeles Convention Center, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Tutorial #1: Density Functional Theory (Room 406AB)
Instructors: Kieron Burke, University of California-Irvine; Neepa Maitra, Hunter College and City University of New York; John Perdew, Temple University; Carsten Ullrich, University of Missouri-Columbia.

Tutorial #2: Thermoelectrics (Room 405)
Instructors: Marco Bernardi, California Institute of Technology; Lucas Lindsay, Oak Ridge National Lab; Jeffrey Snyder, Northwestern University; Vladan Stevanovic, Colorado School of Mines.

Tutorial #3: Quantum Spintronics (Room 407)
Instructors: David Awschalom, University of Chicago; Christoph Boehme, University of Utah; Michael Flatté, University of Iowa; Evelyn Hu, Harvard University.

Tutorial #4: Quantum Information and Spacetime (Room 404AB)

Afternoon Tutorials, Los Angeles Convention Center, 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Tutorial #5: Hybrid Quantum Systems (Room 404AB)
Instructors: David Schuster, University of Chicago; Andrew Geraci, University of Nevada-Reno; Mukund Venglattore, Cornell University.

Tutorial #6: Quantum Critical Systems (Room 406AB)
Instructors: Andrey Chubukov, University of Minnesota; Sung-Sik Lee, McMaster University; Yoni Schattner, Stanford University; James Analytis, University of California-Berkeley.

Tutorial #7: Mathematica and Wolfram Language for Physicists (Room 407)
Instructors: Peter Barendse, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Daniel George, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Luke Titus, Wolfram Research; Vitaliy Kaurov, Wolfram Research.

March Meeting: Editorial Events

Meet the Physical Review Editors Reception

Los Angeles Convention Center, Concourse Foyer; Tuesday, March 6, 4:30 - 6:30 pm

The editors of the Physical Review journals invite you to their 125th Anniversary celebration. The editors will be available to answer questions, hear your ideas, and discuss your comments about the journals.