Physics
Showing 101-200 of 401 Results
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David Goldhaber-Gordon
TG Wijaya Professor of Physics and Professor, by courtesy, of Applied Physics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHow do electrons organize themselves on the nanoscale?
We know that electrons are charged particles, and hence repel each other; yet in common metals like copper billions of electrons have plenty of room to maneuver and seem to move independently, taking no notice of each other. Professor Goldhaber-Gordon studies how electrons behave when they are instead confined to tiny structures, such as wires only tens of atoms wide. When constrained this way, electrons cannot easily avoid each other, and interactions strongly affect their organization and flow. The Goldhaber-Gordon group uses advanced fabrication techniques to confine electrons to semiconductor nanostructures, to extend our understanding of quantum mechanics to interacting particles, and to provide the basic science that will shape possible designs for future transistors and energy conversion technologies. The Goldhaber-Gordon group makes measurements using cryogenics, precision electrical measurements, and novel scanning probe techniques that allow direct spatial mapping of electron organization and flow. For some of their measurements of exotic quantum states, they cool electrons to a fiftieth of a degree above absolute zero, the world record for electrons in semiconductor nanostructures. -
Peter Graham
Wells Family Director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics and Dr. William S. & Carol A. Davies Professor of Physics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWhat physics lies beyond the Standard Model and how can we discover it?
Professor Graham is broadly interested in theoretical physics beyond the Standard Model which often involves cosmology, astrophysics, general relativity, and even atomic physics. The Standard Model leaves many questions unanswered including the nature of dark matter and the origins of the weak scale, the cosmological constant, and the fundamental fermion masses. These clues are a guide to building new theories beyond the Standard Model. He recently proposed a new solution to the hierarchy problem which uses dynamical relaxation in the early universe instead of new physics at the weak scale.
Professor Graham is also interested in inventing novel experiments to discover such new physics, frequently using techniques from astrophysics, condensed matter, and atomic physics. He is a proposer and co-PI of the Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment (CASPEr) and the DM Radio experiment. CASPEr uses nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to search for axion dark matter. DM Radio uses high precision magnetometry and electromagnetic resonators to search for hidden photon and axion dark matter. He has also proposed techniques for gravitational wave detection using atom interferometry.
Current areas of focus:
Theory beyond the Standard Model
Dark matter models and detection
Novel experimental proposals for discovering new physics such as axions and gravitational waves
Understanding results from experiments ranging from the LHC to early universe cosmology -
Giorgio Gratta
Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor
BioGiorgio Gratta is a Professor of Physics at Stanford university. Gratta is an experimentalist, with research interests in the broad area of the physics of fundamental particles and their interactions. While his career started with experiments at particle colliders, since at Stanford Gratta has tackled the study of neutrinos and gravity at the shortest distances.
With two landmark experiments using neutrinos produced by nuclear reactors, Gratta and collaborators investigated the phenomenon of neutrino flavor mixing, in one case reporting the first evidence for neutrino oscillations using artificial neutrinos. This established the finite nature of neutrino masses. The same experiment was also first to detect neutrinos from the interior of our planet, providing a new tool for the Earth sciences.
As a natural evolution from the discovery of neutrino oscillations, Gratta has led the development of liquid Xenon detectors in the search for the neutrinoless double beta decay, an exotic nuclear decay that, if observed, would change our understanding of the quantum nature of neutrinos and help explaining the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe. Gratta is currently the scientific leader of one of the three very large experiments on the subject, world-wide.
In a rather different area of research, Gratta’s group is studying new long range interactions (or an anomalous behavior of gravity) at distances below 50 micrometers. This is achieved with an array of different techniques, from optical levitation of microscopic particles in vacuum, to the use of Mössbauer spectroscopy and, most recently, neutron scattering on nanostructured materials. -
Eunice Han
Student Svcs Offcr 1, Physics
Current Role at StanfordStudent Services Officer 1
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Patrick Hayden
Stanford Professor of Quantum Physics
BioProfessor Hayden is a leader in the exciting new field of quantum information science. He has contributed greatly to our understanding of the absolute limits that quantum mechanics places on information processing, and how to exploit quantum effects for computing and other aspects of communication. He has also made some key insights on the relationship between black holes and information theory.
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Leo Hollberg
Professor (Research) of Physics and of Geophysics
BioHow can we make optimal use of quantum systems (atoms, lasers, and electronics) to test fundamental physics principles, enable precision measurements of space-time and when feasible, develop useful devices, sensors, and instruments?
Professor Hollberg’s research objectives include high precision tests of fundamental physics as well as applications of laser physics and technology. This experimental program in laser/atomic physics focuses on high-resolution spectroscopy of laser-cooled and -trapped atoms, non-linear optical coherence effects in atoms, optical frequency combs, optical/microwave atomic clocks, and high sensitivity trace gas detection. Frequently this involves the study of laser noise and methods to circumvent measurement limitations, up to, and beyond, quantum limited optical detection. Technologies and tools utilized include frequency-stabilized lasers and chip-scale atomic devices. Based in the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory (HEPL), this research program has strong, synergistic, collaborative connections to the Stanford Center on Position Navigation and Time (SCPNT). Research directions are inspired by experience that deeper understanding of fundamental science is critical and vital in addressing real-world problems, for example in the environment, energy, and navigation. Amazing new technologies and devices enable experiments that test fundamental principles with high precision and sometimes lead to the development of better instruments and sensors. Ultrasensitive optical detection of atoms, monitoring of trace gases, isotopes, and chemicals can impact many fields. Results from well-designed experiments teach us about the “realities” of nature, guide and inform, occasionally produce new discoveries, frequently surprise, and almost always generate new questions and perspectives. -
Aurora Ireland
Postdoctoral Scholar, Physics
BioAurora Ireland is broadly interested in early universe cosmology and high energy particle theory. She completed her PhD at the University of Chicago in 2024. Prior in 2018, she obtained a masters degree from the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
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Kent Irwin
Director, Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory (HEPL), Professor of Physics, of Particle Physics and Astrophysics and of Photon Science
BioIrwin Group web page:
https://irwinlab.stanford.edu/ -
Shamit Kachru
Professor of Physics and Director, Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy current research is focused in three directions:
— Mathematical aspects of string theory (with a focus on BPS state counts, black holes, and moonshine)
— Quantum field theory approaches to condensed matter physics (with a focus on physics of non-Fermi liquids)
— Theoretical biology, with a focus on evolution and ecology -
Renata Kallosh
Stanford W. Ascherman, MD Professor, Emerita
BioWhat is the mathematical structure of supergravity/string theory and its relation to cosmology?
Professor Kallosh works on the general structure of supergravity and string theory and their applications to cosmology. Her main interests are related to the models early universe inflation and dark energy in string theory. She develops string theory models explaining the origin of the universe and its current acceleration. With her collaborators, she has recently constructed de Sitter supergravity, which is most suitable for studies of inflation and dark energy and spontaneously broken supersymmetry.
She is analyzing possible consequences of the expected new data from current and future cosmological observations, including LiteBIRD satellite CMB data. These results may affect the relationship between superstring theory and supergravity, and the real world. Professor Kallosh works, in particular, on future tests of string theory by CMB data and effective supergravity models with flexible amplitude of gravitational waves produced during inflation. -
Aharon Kapitulnik
Theodore and Sydney Rosenberg Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Physics
BioAharon Kapitulnik is the Theodore and Sydney Rosenberg Professor in Applied Physics at the Departments of Applied Physics and Physics at Stanford University. His research focuses on experimental condensed matter physics, while opportunistically, also apply his methods to tabletop experimental studies of fundamental phenomena in physics. His recent studies cover a broad spectrum of phenomena associated with the behavior of correlated and disordered electron systems, particularly in reduced dimensions, and the development of effective instrumentation to detect subtle signatures of physical phenomena.
Among other recognitions, his activities earned him the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (1986-90), a Presidential Young Investigator Award (1987-92), a Sackler Scholar at Tel-Aviv University (2006), the Heike Kamerlingh Onnes Prize for Superconductivity Experiment (2009), a RTRA (Le Triangle de la Physique) Senior Chair (2010), and the Oliver Buckley Condensed Matter Prize of the American Physical Society (2015). Aharon Kapitulnik is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Kapitulnik holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Tel-Aviv University (1984). -
Steven Kivelson
Prabhu Goel Family Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPast Graduate Students:
Assa Auerbach - Professor of Physics, Technion University - deceased.
Weikang Wu - deceased.
Shoucheng Zhang - Professor of Physics, Stanford University - deceased.
Shivaji Sondhi - Wykham Professor of Physics, Oxford University
Markku Salkola - Facebook, Menlo Park
Vadim Oganesyan - Professor of Physics CUNY
Kyrill Shtengle - Professor of Physics, UC Riverside
Oron Zachar
Zohar Nussinov - Professor of Physics, Washington University
Erica W. Carlson - Professor of Physics, Purdue University
Edward Sleva
John Robertson - Citadel, Austin
Wei-Feng Tsai
Ian Bindloss
Paul Oreto - Head of Machine Learning at Cantor Fitzgerald, New York
Erez Berg - Professor of Physics, Weizmann Institute
Hong Yao - Professor of Physics, Tsinghua University
Li Liu
Weejee Cho
George Karakonstantakis
Sam Lederer - Physics and Science Research Teacher, Harker School, San Jose
Laimei Nie - Assistant Professor of Physics, Purdue University
Ilya Esterlis - Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison
John Dodaro - Research Associate, Stanford University
Chao Wang - Citadel LLC, New York
Yue Yu - Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Yuval Gannot - Software Engineer, Google, Mtn. View
Kyung-Su KIm - Post Doctoral Fellow, A.J. Leggett Institute, UIUC
Zhaoyu Han - Post Doctoral Fellow, Harvard Univeristy
Andrew Yuan - Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Maryland
Vladimir Calvera - Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota
Askhat Pandey - Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford
Past Post Docs:
Douglas Stone - Professor of Physics, Yale University
Gergeley Zimanyi - Professor of Physics, UC Davis
Dror Orgad - Professor of Physics, Tel Aviv University
Hae-Young Kee - Professor of Physics, University of Toronto
Oskar Vafek - Professor of Physics, University of Florida
Eun-Ah Kim - Professor of Physics, Cornell University
Srinivas Raghu - Professor of Physics, Stanford University
Maisam Barkeshli - Professor of Physics, University of Maryland
Michael Mulligan - Associate Professor of Physics, UC Riverside
Pavan Hosur - Professor of Physics, University of Houston
Yi Zhang - Professor of Physics, Tsinghua University
Abulhassan Vaezi - Professor of Physics, Sharifi University
Tomas Bzdusek - Professor of Physics, University of Zurich
Jingyuan Chen - Assistant Professor of Physics, Tsinghua University
Yoni Schattner - Research Scientist, Quantum Computing at the Amazon Center for
Quantum Computing at Caltech, Pasadena
John Sous - Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Yale University
Chaitanya Murthy - Assistant Professor, University of Rochester
Past Undergraduate Research Assistants:
Kevin S. Wang - Graduate student, Princeton University
Jeffrey Chang - Graduate student, Harvard University
Vijay Nathan Josephs - Graduate Student, Stanford University
Unofficial Past Students and Post Docs:
(i.e. where I believe I played the corresponding mentoring role, but the connection
was unofficial - a shameless attempt to claim partial credit):
Shoucheng Zhang - (did his final year of PhD work, the part in CMT, under my direction and
worked with me extensively while a post doc)
Jainendra Jain - (did the final portion of his PhD work, the part relevant to the quantum
Hall effect, under my guidance and worked with me extensively while a post doc)
Daniel Rokhsar - (No official connection at all, but did significant portion of both his
graduate and post-doctoral research in collaboration with me.)
Akash Maharaj - (was a student of Srinivas Raghu with whom he worked extensively, but
he also did a significant portion of his graduate research in collaboration with me.) -
Shayarneel Kundu
Ph.D. Student in Physics, admitted Autumn 2022
BioI am an incoming graduate student interested in Particle Physics Phenomenology, Dark Matter Physics, and Beyond Standard Model Physics.
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Chao-Lin Kuo
Professor of Physics and of Particle Physics and Astrophysics
On Leave from 2026-06-16 To 2026-09-15Current Research and Scholarly Interests1. Searching/measuring primordial gravitational waves in the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) through experiments at the South Pole (BICEP and SPT), high plateaus in Tibet (AliCPT) and Atacama (Simons Observatory), as well as in space (LiteBIRD).
2. Development and applications of superconducting detector and readout systems in astrophysics, cosmology, and other areas.
3. Novel detector concepts for axion searches (https://youtu.be/UBscQSFzpLE) -
Robert Laughlin
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences
BioProfessor Laughlin is a theorist with interests ranging from hard-core engineering to cosmology. He is an expert in semiconductors (Nobel Prize 1998) and has also worked on plasma and nuclear physics issues related to fusion and nuclear-pumped X-ray lasers. His technical work at the moment focuses on “correlated-electron” phenomenology – working backward from experimental properties of materials to infer the presence (or not) of new kinds of quantum self-organization. He recently proposed that all Mott insulators – including the notorious doped ones that exhibit high-temperature superconductivity – are plagued by a new kind of subsidiary order called “orbital antiferromagnetism” that is difficult to detect directly. He is also the author of A Different Universe, a lay-accessible book explaining emergent law.
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Benjamin Lev
Stanford Fortitude Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsLevLab is a joint AMO & CM experimental group that explores the question: Can new classes of states and phases of quantum matter be created far away from equilibrium, and if so, what do we learn? We use our new technique, confocal cavity QED, to both engineer out-of-equilibrium quantum gases and 2D materials and to image and control their new properties.
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Craig Levin
Professor of Radiology (Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford/Nuclear Medicine) and, by courtesy, of Physics, of Electrical Engineering and of Bioengineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMolecular Imaging Instrumentation
Laboratory
Our research interests involve the development of novel instrumentation and software algorithms for in vivo imaging of cellular and molecular signatures of disease in humans and small laboratory animal subjects. -
Jiaxuan Li
Postdoctoral Scholar, Physics
BioJiaxuan Li is a Brinson Prize Fellow at Stanford University’s Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC). He is an observational astrophysicist studying dwarf galaxies, dark matter, and galaxy formation in the nearby universe, using deep imaging, large sky surveys, numerical simulations, and statistical methods. He leads the ELVES-Dwarf survey, which is building a statistical census of satellite systems around dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume. Jiaxuan received his Ph.D. in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 2026, where he worked with Jenny Greene, and his B.S. in Astrophysics from Peking University.
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Andrei Linde
Humanities and Sciences Professor, Emeritus
BioWhat is the origin and the global structure of the universe?
For a long time, scientists believed that our universe was born in the big bang, as an expanding ball of fire. This scenario dramatically changed during the last 35 years. Now we think that initially the universe was rapidly inflating, being in an unstable energetic vacuum-like state. It became hot only later, when this vacuum-like state decayed. Quantum fluctuations produced during inflation are responsible for galaxy formation. In some places, these quantum fluctuations are so large that they can produce new rapidly expanding parts of the universe. This process makes the universe immortal and transforms it into a multiverse, a huge fractal consisting of many exponentially large parts with different laws of low-energy physics operating in each of them.
Professor Linde is one of the authors of inflationary theory and of the theory of an eternal inflationary multiverse. His work emphasizes the cosmological implications of string theory and supergravity.
Current areas of focus:
- Construction of realistic models of inflation based on supergravity and string theory
- Investigation of conceptual issues related to the theory of inflationary multiverse -
John Lipa
Professor (Research) of Physics, Emeritus
BioJohn Lipa received his PhD at the University of Western Austrailia. He has acted as an assistant professor, senior research associate, and professor at Stanford University. Research interests include testing of various aspects of the renormalization group theory of cooperative phase transitions.
