Speakers
Dr. Taner Yildirim obtained his PhD in Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Pennsylvania during 1990-1994. His PhD work involved combined experimental and theoretical studies of doped fullerenes and quantum magnets under the supervision of Prof. Jack Fischer and Prof. A. B. Harris. He did his postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland and the NIST Center for Neutron Research during 1994-1997. Since 1997, he has been a Physicist at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, working on a large number of problems, both theoretically and experimentally. Dr. Yildirim is a NIST fellow since 2010. His research addresses structural, magnetic, and transport properties of novel materials with an eye toward practical applications. This is done by calculating the properties of real materials using first-principles computational techniques and testing the results by neutron scattering and other measurements. Systems of particular interest include molecular solids such as the fullerenes and cubane, frustrated magnetic systems such as the Kagome lattice and cuprates, novel superconductors such as doped fullerenes, magnesium diboride and Fe-pnictide, and nanomaterials such as nanotubes and molecular magnets. In particular, he has been studying nanoporous materials such as carbide-derived carbons, MOFs, and graphene oxide based carbons for gas storage and carbon capture applications. He has over 250 peer-reviewed publications in the field including several review articles. His work received over 28000 citations with a h-factor 84. He is a winner of several awards, including 2009 Turkish TUBITAK Science Award, 2006 Science Prize of the Neutron Scattering Society of America, 2007 United States Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award, and 2007 Arthur S. Flemming Award. Dr. Yildirim has been named Fellows of the American Physical Society in 2008.
Eric Altman is the Roberto C. Goizueta Professor of Chemical Engineering at Yale University. He earned his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively. After a stint at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory he has been on the Yale faculty since 1994. His work centers on understanding surface phenomena through atomic-level observation and quantification using scanning probe methods. Current topics of interest include two-dimensional oxides as model catalysts, atomically thin molecular sieves, and multiferroic materials, switchable and cyclic surface chemistry, and using atomic force microscopy based molecular manipulation to interrogate intermolecular interactions on surfaces. He has published over 130 papers on topics spanning from heterogeneous catalysis, etching and oxidation reactions, nucleation and growth of thin films, ferroelectric surfaces, magnetic materials, scanning probe method development and two-dimensional materials. His honors include a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering.
Dr. Hanno Weitering is a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), working in experimental condensed matter physics and surface physics. His research focuses on electronic instabilities and correlated electron phenomena in low-dimensional materials. Among his most notable works in recent years are the discovery of itinerant antiferromagnetism in ruthenium dioxide, a well-known chemical catalyst, and the realization of unconventional superconductivity at the surface of a conventional silicon semiconductor. Dr. Weitering advised or co-advised 15 graduate students and 14 postdoctoral associates. He chaired various international review panels and served as Deputy Director of the UTK/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Institute of Advanced Materials from 2009-2019. He was Head of the UTK Department of Physics and Astronomy from 2012 till 2022. Prof. Weitering is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).