Fahad Mahmood joins the condensed matter effort at Illinois. In his research on ultra-fast optical spectroscopies of quantum materials, he uses extremely short laser pulses to study problems at the intersection of strongly correlated quantum materials and non-equilibrium physics. He is best known for his work on THz collective modes and fluctuations in cuprate superconductors and on Floquet-Bloch states in topological insulators.
Written by Jessica Raley for Illinois Physics
The Department of Physics at Illinois welcomes an extraordinary set of ten new faculty members this year. Eight of them have arrived on campus and have begun setting up their labs and settling into life in Champaign-Urbana. Two more faculty are set to arrive in January. We will feature each of them here over the next couple of weeks. Check back regularly to learn more about the exciting work these new faculty members are doing.
Professor Fahad Mahmood (right) works with graduate student Yinchuan Lu (center) and undergraduate student Andrea Perry (left) on generating and detecting THz radiation.
Professor Fahad Mahmood
Fahad Mahmood joins the condensed matter effort at Illinois. In his research on ultra-fast optical spectroscopies of quantum materials, he uses extremely short laser pulses to study problems at the intersection of strongly correlated quantum materials and non-equilibrium physics. He is best known for his work on THz collective modes and fluctuations in cuprate superconductors and on Floquet-Bloch states in topological insulators. His future research will explore the ways in which new quantum phases of matter can be studied and engineered by shining light on electrons. Of his decision to bring his research program to Illinois, he says, “I have excellent inter-disciplinary resources here e.g., from materials science, from electrical engineering, and from chemistry. A lot of my work is based on new materials, and there are already research groups here who are growing and studying interesting materials that one can then characterize and essentially play with using the spectroscopies that I work on.”
For more information about Fahad's research, or to inquire about joining his lab, please visit his website. Undergraduates as well as graduate students are encouraged to reach out.
Madeline Stover is a physics doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying atmospheric dynamics applied to forest conservation. She interns as a science writer for Illinois Physics, where she also co-hosts the podcast Emergence along with fellow physics graduate student Mari Cieszynski. When Stover is not doing research or communications, she enjoys hosting her local radio show, singing with her band, and cooking with friends.
Daniel Inafuku graduated from Illinois Physics with a PhD and now works as a science writer. At Illinois, he conducted scientific research in mathematical biology and mathematical physics. In addition to his research interests, Daniel is a science video media creator.
Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, Ph. D. is a science writer and an educator. She teaches college and high school physics and mathematics courses, and her writing has been published in popular science outlets such as WIRED, Scientific American, Physics World, and New Scientist. She earned a Ph. D. in Physics from UIUC in 2019 and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Jamie Hendrickson is a writer and content creator in higher education communications. They earned their M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021. In addition to their communications work, they are a published area studies scholar and Russian-to-English translator.
Garrett R. Williams is an Illinois Physics Ph.D. Candidate and science writer. He has been recognized as the winner of the 2020 APS History of Physics Essay Competition and as a finalist in the 2021 AAAS Science and Human Rights Essay Competition. He was also an invited author in the 2021 #BlackinPhysics Week series published by Physics Today and Physics World.
Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, Ph. D. is a science writer and an educator. She teaches college and high school physics and mathematics courses, and her writing has been published in popular science outlets such as WIRED, Scientific American, Physics World, and New Scientist. She earned a Ph. D. in Physics from UIUC in 2019 and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.