Physics of functional materials: decoding the past and directing the future

For as long as humans have existed, we have used materials around us in creative ways to enhance our lives. In ancient times, these materials included ceramics, lime plasters, pigments, and charcoals. In modern life, we use high-tech materials in everything from medical implants (biomaterials) to data storage and retrieval (magnetic materials) to sensors (electronic materials). Then and now, many factors affect the performance of a material, including its composition and the amount of structural order that is introduced during its preparation and use. Therefore, experiments that investigate how structural order affects the magnetic, optical, electronic, or mechanical properties of solid materials are very important from scientific, technological, and cultural standpoints.

Current projects

We investigate materials with archaeological, geological and technological applications.

Publications

Read about our recent findings, including press releases.

The Group

My research team includes chemists, physicists, engineers, archaeologists, and mathematicians.

Lab Tour

Take a virtual visit through our state-of-the-art materials synthesis and characterization labs.

We also use high performance computing resources through ACEnet, which is part of Compute Canada.

Funding

This work is supported by local and national funding agencies, as well as through industry collaborations.

Join us!

Do you think this research is for you? View this page to learn about employment and studying opportunities.

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