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Our research focuses on the synthesis of new materials and those with improved properties, mainly in the form of single crystals, which are both relevant to energy applications and of fundamental interest to the condensed matter physics community. We study magnetic interactions in unconventional superconductors, heat transport in thermoelectric materials,  and anisotropic magnetic materials, including helimagnets, hard ferromagnets, and behaviors arising from competing magnetic ground states. A large fraction of our effort is devoted to transition metal compounds with strong correlations, and the identification and investigation of materials that can serve as model systems for developing better understanding of complex phenomena.

Using the wide range of synthesis and measurement capabilities within our lab, we produce high quality samples of intermetallics, chalcogenides, pnictides, and oxides. We use a variety of synthesis techniques, including solid-state and ceramic methods, flux growth, vapor transport, and optical-floating-zone growth, and Bridgman techniques. The composition of these materials can be carefully controlled, and the effects of compositional tuning on the basic physics of the materials are studied using x-ray and neutron diffraction, electron microscopy, magnetization, thermal analysis, specific heat, and electrical and thermal transport measurements.
Once the materials are prepared and carefully characterized, in-depth experiments involving inelastic neutron scattering, photoemission, scanning tunneling microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy are performed to obtain a deeper understanding of the relevant physics. The research involves close collaboration with many of experimental and theoretical efforts of the basic condensed matter and materials science research groups at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as well as extensive collaborations with scientists at universities and other national laboratories.

View a list of selected publications, or visit individual CEM Group staff pages for publication lists, contact information, and other details.

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