Most current research work involves high temperature superconductors, a class of materials discovered in 1986 at an IBM lab in Zurich, Switzerland. The excitement generated by these materials led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1988 to two IBM scientists. Some research work on these materials is conducted on campus, while other work goes on at Argonne National Laboratory, where I have a joint appointment. Research on these materials involves many aspects of science and engineering, but particularly electrical engineering, materials science, and condensed matter physics.
Students often struggle with the choice between physics, applied physics, and engineering.
This type of research is ideal for exposing the student to all three, and for providing an interdisciplinary work environment for both scientists and engineers. In the last seven years eleven research papers have been published, including five authored by undergraduates. Teaching My primary teaching responsibility is at the intermediate level, where I teach several courses involving extensive laboratory work. Two of these courses, part of our sequence on electronics and electromagnetism, were the recipient of a recent NSF equipment grant. This grant and other sources of funding have enabled us to provide each student with their own electronic bench for 4-8 hours each week.