Update (07/01/2020): I have recently joined the Research team at the Voleon Group in Berkeley, CA. This website describes the work that I have done while in graduate school and it will not be further updated. The information and views contained herein belong solely to the author and do not reflect the opinions of Voleon.

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Welcome! I am currently a PhD candidate in Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Condensed Matter Theory Center. My thesis advisor is Joel Moore. My research is supported by the NDSEG and Hellman Graduate Fellowships.

Previously, I read Part III Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and Philosophy of Physics at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. I completed undergraduate degrees in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin as part of the Dean's Scholars Honors Program.

My main interests are in emergent phenomena in strongly correlated electronic systems; so far I have worked mostly on universal aspects of periodically driven systems using conformal field theory and strong-disorder techniques.

Outside of physics, my hobbies include playing the violin, scuba diving and backpacking.

Please have a look at my projects, see a full list of talks and publications, and feel free to contact me here.

News

• • I will be visiting the Perimeter Institute from 11/21 - 11/22. Here is a video of my talk.

  • I will be giving a seminar at MIT on 9/12 (Duboc room 4-331 at 12pm).

  • I will be giving the Harvard CMT "Kid's Seminar" on 9/10 (Lyman 425 at 11:45am).

  • I am excited to attend the Les Houches summer school "Dynamics and Disorder in Quantum Many Body Systems Far from Equilibrium" from 7/29 - 8/23.

  • I will be visiting Harvard from 3/8-3/16.

  • I will be attending the APS March Meeting in Boston from 3/3-3/8, and the CUNY/BU Quantum Snapshots conference 3/11-12.

Education

University of California, Berkeley, PhD Physics (2015 - ). Adivsor: Joel Moore.

University of Oxford, MSt Philosophy of Physics (2015).

University of Cambridge, MASt Mathematics (Part III) (2014).

University of Texas at Austin, BS Physics, BS Mathematics (2013).

Publications arXiv

Publications

6. W. Berdanier, T. Scaffidi and J. E. Moore. “Energy drag in particle-hole symmetric systems as a quantum quench.” Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 246603 (2019).

5. W. Berdanier, J. Marino and E. Altman. "Universal Dynamics of Stochastically Driven Quantum Impurities." Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 230604 (2019).

4. W. Berdanier, M. Kolodrubetz, S. A. Parameswaran and R. Vasseur. "Strong-Disorder Renormalization Group for Periodically Driven Systems." Phys. Rev. B. 98, 174203 (2018).

3. W. Berdanier, M. Kolodrubetz, S. A. Parameswaran and R. Vasseur. "Floquet Quantum Criticality." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 115 (38) 9491-9496 (2018).

2. W. Berdanier, M. Kolodrubetz, R. Vasseur and J. E. Moore. “Floquet Dynamics of Boundary-Driven Systems at Criticality.” Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 260602 (2017).

1. W. Berdanier, P. K. Roy and I. D. Kaganovich. “Intense ion beam neutralization using underdense background plasma.” Phys. Plasmas 22, 013104 (2015).