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Theoretical and Computational Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

The condensed matter theorists at West Virginia work to provide a better understanding of materials, their interfaces and interactions, and to lay the foundation for applications based on the discovery of new physics. 

Faculty Research

Prof. Aldo Romero has been involved in implementing and using Density Functional Theory, Time Dependent Density Functional Theory, and many particle approaches (GW or Bethe-Salpeter), which are the methods most often used to describe any material. Prof. Romero’s experience goes from crystalline systems, amorphous and glasses to different types of nanostructures. Routinely, Prof. Romero performs computational materials characterization, such as determining the electronic, optical, elastic, vibrational and magnetic properties based on these theories. 

Prof. Tudor Stanescu’s research interests are driven by current experimental observations that challenge the standard paradigms of transport, magnetism, or superconductivity and by those aimed at creating and probing novel, unconventional phases and quantum states. Materials characterized by strong correlations, systems with spin-orbit interactions, or those characterized by strong orbital effects are some of the likely candidates. 

Prof. Subhasish Mandal uses first principles-based computer simulations to perform research on fundamental problems in quantum materials. The interactions between the spin, charge, and structural degrees of freedom become important in these problems and lead to exciting phenomena like high-temperature superconductivity or the quantum spin Hall effect. His research on strongly correlated materials is determined to not only solve critical phenomena but also to understand and design materials which have potential applications for energy storage, energy conservation, and to build future electronic devices that are smaller, faster, and smarter.