Research Focus

During the last century the study of solid materials' electronic properties has repeatedly given rise to fundamental discoveries in physics and to countless new technologies. Among the most exciting new solid materials that physicists are now investigating are "topological" materials (in which the properties of electrons on the surface are intimately tied to the properties of the electrons in the interior) and "spintronic" materials (in which the electrons' spin can be readily controlled by light or by electric fields). 

In the Weber Lab, we measure electronic properties by optical spectroscopy--shining a laser onto a material and measuring how much light is reflected or transmitted. We are currently trying to expand our repertoire of "ultrafast" measurements, through collaborations and user-facilities, to include X-ray diffraction and angle-resolved photoemission. We aim both to understand and to control the behavior of electrons in topological and spintronic materials with sub-picosecond time resolution.