About
Eric received their Ph.D. from Stanford University where they magnetically imaged how electrons flow through novel materials to better understand their behavior. As an Elings Prize Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara, they investigated the collective behavior of electrons in graphene, studying new phases arising from inter-electron interactions.
Eric is interested in the behavior of electrons in weird situations, whether that be at extremely low temperature, high magnetic fields, in two or fewer dimensions, and/or when repulsion between electrons is strong. Some electronic phases of matter are familiar: metals, insulators, and ferromagnets. However, in strange conditions, electrons can form phases with more fantastic properties: flowing without any electrical resistance or behaving as if they have a fraction of an electron charge. Eric plans to further our understanding of novel phases using magnetic imaging on the nanometer scale, electronic measurements, and assembly of two-dimensional materials.
Specifically, in their group, Eric is planning on investigating superconductivity, fractional quantum Hall, and other electronic and magnetic states of matter in devices assembled using exfoliated materials such as graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. In order to investigate new types of devices and exotic behaviors, the group will use a combination of electronic measurements (electronic transport, capacitance measurements, etc.) and scanning magnetic measurements such as scanning SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device).