History

Starting off 2025, wrapping up Ph.D.

The time is coming to an end, with a very invigorating achievement at the end of my phd! I developed a technique which the NanoESCA spin detector can successfully and reliably acquire spin-resolved band structure! Here's a synopsis of a spin-polarized surface state from one of the known topological insulators, Bi2Se3. As I give this technique to my PI, LabMonti becomes one of a select few research groups capable of doing spin-resolved ARPES (SARPES) around the world!

Recognitions, Spring 2024

This year, I am teaching a senior year class (400B) with as a Distinguished Teaching Assistant! Also, I had a research trip to the ORNL and conducted another STM research. This research trip was gratefully supported by Carl S. Marvel Scholarship.

Second Publication in my Ph.D

A perspective paper is accepted by Applied Physics Letters! I helped curate data, make original figures, and reviewed the manuscript. This paper introduces readers to a core research idea that encompasses the LabMonti surface science part. DOI link will be posted soon.

I also applied to APS March 2024 meeting. Time to get my graduation ready, shake hands with people at the conference.

2023 Summer - STM research and NanoESCA

I'm grateful for the Carl S. Marvel travel grant award, I was able to take a trip to the ORNL and conducted very fascinating STM studies. Then the NanoESCA system is also giving me very interesting momentum microscope results. Stay tuned!

Also, I helped my advisor writing up a perspective paper on the Monti group's surface science ideas.
Synchrotron's RESPES-based paper will soon be published as well.

2023 Spring - A recognition

My research trip to ORNL is recognized by one of the travel grant award committee groups, so I am going to receive a Carl S. Marvel travel grant award! 

2022 Fall Wrap up

I've gained more experience with lab skills - working on publications with novel findings in one of the quantum materials! I found a DFT collaborator to understand what can possibly be happening in my sample as I modified some atomic compositions. Also, a co-proposal with my advisor is accepted by one of the most pronounced national labs - Oak Ridge National Laboratories - for on-site use!  This was announced a day before 2022 Christmas.  Worth a long wait!

2022 Spring Wrap Up

Time flies and I'm already finishing my 4th year. In the meantime, I was able to observe very interesting phenomena with the materials that I've been jamming with. There are a lot of subsequent hypotheses I need to hash out, I'm hoping to speak out with a scientific paper. It is a little unfortunate to spend little time on stargazing nowadays, but I am happy with the progress I've made. Spoiler alert: NanoESCA will soon give its first debut and I'm proud of getting it commissioned by firsthand.

2021 Spring Wrap Up

The research group recently came back to 100% operation. I got a small cash prize from the university for being recognized as an excellent TA of the semester. I always try to devote myself where science is happening. I'm expecting a lot of ARPES experiments. I will make it count.

2020 Wrap up

This year has been quite insane - as we all know. I started to grow some 2D materials using CVD, a new instrument has been installed in the Monti lab (NanoESCA!), the group got a beam time at SLAC so we got a resonant Auger spectroscopic data. Things are going back up again yet overall its taking some time. Hope that we will have one less thing to worry in the next year - COVID. But whatever the circumstances I face, I'll keep up best of my efforts.