We are a small interdisciplinary group of research chemists and physicists, dedicated to spreading the use of density functional theory (DFT) throughout the known universe, but particularly in chemistry, physics, materials science, and nanoscience. We mostly develop methodology, but also collaborate with excellent groups both within and beyond UCI on novel applications. Some recent and ongoing projects include: electron-molecule scattering using time-dependent density functional theory, atoms and molecules in strong laser fields, and transport through single organic molecules.

I am interested in quantum electronics and quantum information science, and specifically, the development of high-speed semiconductors and high-frequency electronic and optical devices. My current efforts are aimed at the understanding of high-frequency (microwave and infrared) properties of two-dimensional electron systems formed in semiconductor quantum structures.

My main research interests are: theoretical study in strongly correlated electronic systems, high-temperature superconductivity, and quantum magnetism. I study complex properties of new materials using microscopic modeling, diagrammatic technique, and comparison with the numerical studies.

Our research focuses on the properties of carbon nanotube circuits, and especially the interdependence of electronic behavior and chemical modifications. By introducing single defects into a nanotube conductor and tailoring the defects' chemistry, we access a regime where resistance, noise, and transistor-like behaviors can all be tuned with nearly single bond precision.

Our ultimate goal is to find organizing principles and framework to understand complex materials with strongly interacting electrons. The quantum many body problem is a notoriously difficult problem and yet condensed matter physics has proven to be one the most technologically rewarding areas of physics. Our group's focus is currently on the single crystal growth and characterization of new intermetallic compounds containing rare-earth elements.

The goal of research in my group is to develop new electronic structure methods and to apply them to chemistry. We are specifically interested in methods showing promise for excited states and nanoscale systems. Often, our methods allow applications to systems or properties that were not accessible before. Systems studied by us include fullerenes , structures and properties of gold clusters, and cephams.

Our research program focuses upon exploring new concepts and strategies at the interfaces with catalysis and biology for the design of well-defined polymers, biomaterials and nanomaterials. Our current research projects include: Polymer Architecture Design through Catalysis, Biomimetic Supramolecular Polymer Designs, New Biomaterials from Natural Building Blocks, and Self-assembly of Nano Objects into Superlattices.

We use modern surface science techniques to study the chemistry and structure of adsorbates on highly characterized surfaces of metals, semiconductors, and insulators. Underlying all of our research is an interest in understanding the fundamentals of the interactions of small molecules with surfaces. We combine structural experiments (scanning tunneling microscopy and electron microscopies) with spectroscopic experiments to understand the mechanistic details of heterogeneous reactions.

Our research focuses on nanoscale chemical and physical phenomena with an emphasis on probing the basic properties of single atoms and molecules in their nano-environment on solid surfaces by using scanning tunneling microscopy. The goal is to obtain detailed descriptions of small molecules which form the basis for understanding chemical and physical processes at surfaces and properties of nanostructured condensed matter and molecular materials.

In our laboratory, we study the magnetic properties of ultra-thin magnetic systems by spin polarized electron spectroscopies. In one experiment a spin polarized electron beam is scattered off the sample surface, and the polarization and intensity of the scattered electrons are measured as a function of energy loss. In another experiment we probe the surface magnetization by measuring the spin polarization of secondary electrons or photoemitted electrons.

My research interests are focused on new physical phenomena resulting from the interactions between magnetic, electronic and lattice degrees of freedom in lithographically-defined and self-assembled nanostructures. This research relies on development of new nanoscale electronic devices using state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques. Experimental measurements of electronic processes in these nanodevices are typically carried out with sub-nanosecond time resolution at cryogenic temperatures.

Nanomaterials offer great potential to deliver breakthroughs in the efficiency, cost and scalability of devices that produce electricity or fuels from sunlight. Our laboratory develops solar energy conversion and storage devices built from 0D, 1D and 2D nanoscale materials, integrating materials synthesis and fundamental opto-electronic characterization with device fabrication, testing, modeling and optimization.

Heavy fermion compounds are rare-earth-based materials with many unusual properties. Most of the compounds behave as metals at low temperatures, but with anomalously large effective masses so that the Pauli susceptibilities and coefficients of specific heat are large. My research has several stages for studying heavy fermion compounds.

Theoretical and computational methods provide a powerful tool for the study of chemical dynamics and often help us to understand the experiments. One area of our research is the development of such methods and their application to studying the dynamics of small molecules, radicals and clusters. Our computational methods range from ab initio, which are designed to solve the quantum equations exactly, to those that try to employ certain approximations, such as semiclassical, simplifying the calculations while retaining the physically relevant properties of the system.

My primary area of interest is the scattering of electromagnetic waves from randomly rough surfaces. Of particular interest are effects due to the coherent interference of each multiply-scattered optical path and its reciprocal partner. These include enhanced backscattering, enhanced transmission, satellite peaks, new angular intensity correlation functions, and changes in the spectrum of polychromatic light due to rough surface scattering.

The general goal of our research program is to extend the detailed understanding currently attainable for few-body systems to many-body problems. We are interested in the phenomenology of ultrafast dynamical processes in complex systems--the detailed course of events on atomic length scales and femtosecond to picosecond time scales where dynamical "decisions" are made: sudden energy transfer events, bond breakage or formation, barrier crossing or recrossing, and others.

In recent years, it has become possible to synthesize new classes of materials not found in nature, by growing ultra-thin, few atomic layer films on perfect crystal substrates. My interests center around theoretical issues raised by these new forms of matter. For example, ultra-thin ferromagnetic films are two-dimensional magnetic matter; statistical mechanics tells us that the magnetism of two dimensions differs in essential ways from that found in three. Current efforts are devoted to exploring models of such systems.

The aim of research in my group is to understand and exploit colloidal interactions, chemistry, assembly, and response to external fields to design microstructured materials with enhanced functionality for composites, biomimetic applications, alternative energy, and environmental remediation. Current projects involve both fundamental and applied elements of colloid synthesis and surface modification, microfluidics, guided- and self-assembly, and characterization of structure and dynamics by quantitative confocal microscopy and light scattering.

Our research focuses on the development of new synthetic methods for preparing nanomaterials that have unique and useful properties for chemical sensing, and for other applications. The emphasis is on electronic materials including metals, metal oxides, semiconductors, thermoelectric materials, and electronically conductive polymers.

My research involves the exploration and development of novel material systems for nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. One of the key issues in incorporating diverse materials in electronic and optoelectronic devices is to understand the material interfaces and how these affect electronic and/or optical properties. My research group uses self-assembly to fabricate one-dimensional and zero-dimensional organic/inorganic nanostructure arrays. The correlation of material interfaces with electron transport along the lateral axis of nanowires and transport through a molecule/metal nanowire junction is being studied to understand how these components will behave in nanoscale devices.

I am collaborating with Professor Peter Taborek on an experimental program designed to study how surfaces modify bulk phase transitions, such as the liquid-vapor transition and melting. Most of these experiments exploit the unique experimental advantages of liquid helium to explore the general problem of phase transitions near a surface.

Organic synthesis is the enabling science for many new technologies. We are developing new methods and strategies for synthesizing carbon-carbon bonds. Projects include the use of pericyclic reactions to achieve control of stereochemistry, regiochemistry, and absolute configuration of complex polycyclic skeletons.

Our group fabricates single nanopores in polymer films with diameters as tiny as 2 nm, and tailored geometry and surface chemistry. We use these nanopores as templates for building ionic diodes and transistors thus devices, which control transport of ions and molecules in solutions. The nanopores are also templates for biosensors.

The growth of a film of one material on a substrate of a different material is a phenomenon known as wetting; understanding the wetting behavior of an interface is a fundamental problem in statistical physics and is of widespread practical importance. In collaboration with Prof. Rutledge, we have discovered the first example of a new type of growth mode known as prewetting which occurs on weak substrates. We are exploring the interaction of the prewetting transition with superfluidity and solidification.

I am interested in micro- and nano-scale photonics, magnetic and ultrasonic devices and materials. My current research activities focus on three areas: silicon-based photonics, magnetic film-based microwave devices, and MEMS-based Ultrasonic Nozzles for Biomedical Applications.

My research is concentrated on the study of strongly correlated electron systems, such as the Hubbard model, which is used to describe high-temperature superconductors. My specialty is numerical approaches for solving the quantum mechanics of strongly interacting many particle systems. The main numerical technique is the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) I invented in 1992. This method has been very successful and has now been adopted by dozens of groups worldwide.

We study rotational-vibrational energy levels of individual molecules by quantum mechanical techniques. The aim of such studies is, in part, to find efficient methods to carry out these studies. On the other hand, techniques already available are being used to study the interaction between rotations and vibrations and also the effect of molecular potential functions on molecular energy levels.

I develop and apply methods and codes for theoretical studies of various materials properties such as magnetic anisotropy, magneto-optical properties, magnetostriction, linear and non-linear optics, transport across interfaces and multilayers, mechanical cohesion of grain boundaries and catalytic behavior of metal/oxide surfaces.

My research focuses on the materials science aspects of polymers and soft materials, particularly on how they are used to impact nanotechnology. His recent projects include nanoimprinting and nanopatterning using polymers; biomedical, micro- and nano-devices fabricated from polymers; and fracture, failure and toughening of polymers, composites, and nanocomposites.

Superconducting Josephson junction qubits are a leading candidate for making quantum computers. A major obstacle to the realization of quantum computers is noise and decoherence. I work with experimentalists to model the microscopic sources of noise.