Kevin P. Nuckolls

Education

2023 Ph.D. in Physics, Princeton University

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Ali Yazdani

Thesis: ``Electronic Correlations, Topology, and Unconventional Superconductivity in Twisted Bilayer Graphene''

2017 Bachelor of Arts in Physics and Applied Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley

Honors: Physics (Magna cum laude) and Applied Mathematics (Summa cum laude)

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Alex Zettl

Appointments

07/2023 - present Pappalardo Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Joseph Checkelsky

07/2017 - 05/2023 Graduate Research Assistant, Princeton Nanoscale Microscopy Laboratory

Faculty Advisor: Prof. Ali Yazdani

09/2018 - 01/2019 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Physics 105: Honors Mechanics

06/2016 - 05/2017 MCAT Physics Instructor, The Princeton Review

Honors and Awards

2025 Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, American Physical Society (APS)

2022 Pappalardo Postdoctoral Fellowship in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2022 HQI Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship (declined), Harvard University

2022 Charlotte Elizabeth Procter Honorific Fellowship, Princeton University Graduate School

2022 Kusaka Memorial Prize in Physics, Department of Physics, Princeton University

2020 5 Sigma Physicist Award for Outstanding Advocacy, American Physical Society (APS)

2018 Finalist, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship

2016 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, College of Letters and Sciences, UC Berkeley

2017 - 2015 Dean's Honor List (x 5), College of Letters and Sciences, UC Berkeley

2017 - 2014 Berkeley Physics Undergraduate Research Scholarship (x 7), UC Berkeley

Selected Publications (* = equal contributions; †  = corresponding authors)

1. Spectroscopy of the fractal Hofstadter energy spectrum
   K. P. Nuckolls*, M. G. Scheer*, D. Wong*, M. Oh*, R. L. Lee, J. Herzog-Arbeitman, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, B. Lian, and A. Yazdani†
   Nature 639, 60-66 (2025).

2. A microscopic perspective on moiré materials
   K. P. Nuckolls†  and A. Yazdani†
   Nat. Rev. Mater. 9, 460-480 (2024). 

3. Strong electron-phonon coupling in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene
   C. Chen*, K. P. Nuckolls*, S. Ding, W. Miao, D. Wong, M. Oh, R. L. Lee, S. He, C. Peng, D. Pei, Y. Li, C. Hao, H. Yan, H. Xiao, H. Gao, Q. Li, S. Zhang, J. Liu, L. He, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, C. Jozwiak, A. Bostwick, E. Rotenberg, C. Li, X. Han, D. Pan, Z. Liu, X. Dai, C. Liu, B. A. Bernevig, Y. Wang, A. Yazdani, and Y. Chen†
   Nature 636, 342-347 (2024).

4. Quantum textures of the many-body wavefunctions in magic-angle graphene
   K. P. Nuckolls*, R. L. Lee*, M. Oh*, D. Wong*, T. Soejima*, J. Pyo Hong, D. Calugaru, J. Herzog-Arbeitman, B. A. Bernevig, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, N. Regnault, M. P. Zaletel, and A. Yazdani† 
   Nature 620, 525-532 (2023).

5. Evidence for unconventional superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene
   M. Oh*, K. P. Nuckolls*, D. Wong*, R. L. Lee, X. Liu, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi and A. Yazdani†
   Nature 600, 240-245 (2021).

6. Strongly correlated Chern insulators in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene
   K. P. Nuckolls*, M. Oh*, D. Wong*, B. Lian, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, B. A. Bernevig and A. Yazdani†
   Nature 588, 610-615 (2020).

7. Cascade of electronic transitions in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene
   D. Wong*, K. P. Nuckolls*, M. Oh*, B. Lian*, Y. Xie, S. Jeon, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, B. A. Bernevig and A. Yazdani†
   Nature 582, 198-202 (2020).

8. A modular ultra-high vacuum millikelvin scanning tunneling microscope
   D. Wong*, S. Jeon*, K. P. Nuckolls*, M. Oh*, S. C. J. Kingsley and A. Yazdani†
   Review of Scientific Instruments 91, 2, 023703 (2020).

Service

Academic Committees:

03/2021 - 06/2023 Graduate Student Observer, Executive Committee
Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics, American Physical Society

09/2017 - 05/2023 Graduate Student Representative
Princeton Physics Department Graduate Student Committee

01/2019 - 01/2022 Member-at-Large, Executive Committee
Forum on Graduate Student Affairs, American Physical Society

01/2019 - 08/2019 Organizing Committee Member
Princeton Summer School on Condensed Matter Physics

Journal Reviewer:

Nature Communications, Frontiers in Physics

Mentorship, Outreach, and Science Advocacy

06/2021 Volunteer Physics Lecturer
STEM Boot Camp, Warrior-Scholar Project

09/2018 - 05/2021 Graduate Student Mentor
Princeton Society for Physics Students Mentorship Program

09/2017 - 05/2019 Member and STEM Education Policy Advocate
Princeton Citizen Scientists

06/2019 - 08/2019 Graduate Student Research Mentor
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Princeton Center for Complex Materials

Invited Talks

2025 Title TBA...
Young Leaders in Topological Materials and Beyond, Rice Global Paris Center, July 28th

2025 Greene Award: Visualizing the Fractal Hofstadter Energy Spectrum
APS Global Physics Summit Invited Session, American Physical Society, March 19th

2024 Spectroscopy of the Fractal Hofstadter Spectrum
Young Leaders in Topological Materials and Beyond, IAS HKUST, June 17th

2024 Customizable Unconventional Superconducting Materials
MIT Pappalardo Fellowship Symposium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, May 2nd

2023 Quantum Textures of the Many-Body Wavefunctions in Magic-Angle Graphene
Condensed Matter Theory Special Seminar, Columbia University (virtual), August 2nd

2023 Quantum Textures of the Many-Body Wavefunctions in Magic-Angle Graphene
Thouless Institute for Quantum Matter (TIQM) Seminar, University of Washington, July 13th

2023 Quantum Textures of the Many-Body Wavefunctions in Magic-Angle Graphene
PCCM Seminar Series, Princeton University, April 6th

2022 Correlations, Topology, and Unconventional Superconductivity in Twisted Bilayer Graphene
HQI QuantumFest, Harvard University, December 15th

2022 Correlations, Topology, and Unconventional Superconductivity in Twisted Bilayer Graphene
Special Condensed Matter Seminar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, October 14th

2022 Spectroscopic Evidence for Unconventional Superconductivity in Twisted Bilayer Graphene
Correlated Electron Systems, Gordon Research Seminar, June 25th

2022 Spectroscopic Evidence for Correlated Chern Insulators and Unconventional Superconductivity
in Magic-Angle Graphene
APS March Meeting Invited Session, American Physical Society, March 17th

2021 Spectroscopic Evidence for Unconventional Superconductivity in Twisted Bilayer Graphene
ARO MURI Collaboration Meeting, December 14th

2021 Correlated Chern Insulators and Unconventional Pairing in Twisted Bilayer Graphene
EPiQS Postdoc Symposium, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, May 24th

2021 Strongly Correlated Topological Insulators in Magic-Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene
Princeton Quantum Initiative Seminar, Princeton University, February 26th

Contributed Talks

2023 Imaging Magic-Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene
APS March Meeting; Las Vegas, NV, March 6 - 10th

2021 Spectroscopic Signatures of Unconventional Pairing in Magic-Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene
Thomas Young Center Moiré-Twistronics Workshop, Virtual
National Graphene Institute, August 9 - 13th

2021 Strongly Correlated Chern Insulators in Magic-Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene
APS March Meeting, Virtual, March 15 - 19th

2020 Strongly Correlated Chern Insulators in Magic-Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene
Spectroscopy on Strongly Correlated Electron Systems, Virtual Workshop
University of Cambridge, October 27 - 29th

2019 A Modular Design for Ultra-High Vacuum Millikelvin STM Systems
APS March Meeting; Boston, MA, March 4 - 8th

2016 Electrical Transport Characterization of Graphene Aerogel Systems
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Conference, UC Berkeley, August 18th