In 1990, a seminar was initiated for QMC (formerly CNAM/CSR) graduate students in order to present their research to the other students, postdocs, and faculty in the Center. In addition to fostering a rich, collaborative environment in which students learn about the breadth and scope of research being done in QMC, the idea of this series is to teach several crucial skills to our students:
1) How to present their research in a clear and time-efficient way to an audience that was not expert in their area of research;
2) How to best answer questions during their presentations;
3) How to ask good questions when in an audience (or interview), in particular about research beyond their own narrow PhD topic.
In this seminar, students submit formalized feedback to each weekly presenter, providing informative information about presentation style, research content and tips for improvement.
Best Speaker Awards
At the end of each term, a cash prize award is given for the best student and postdoc presentations based on class feedback scores. Previous winners are listed here:
2023 (fall) Jared Erb (student), Peter Czajka (postdoc)
2022 (fall) Sungha Baek (student), Keenan Avers (postdoc)
2020 (fall) Shukai Ma
2019 (spring) Rui Zhang (student), Tarapada Sarkar (postdoc)
2018 (fall) Chris Eckberg (student), Jen-Hao Yeh (postdoc)
2015 Paul Syers, Jasper Drisko
2014 Sean Fackler, Paul Syers,
2013 Kevin Kirshenbaum, Kirsten Burson
2012 Baladitya Suri, Kristen Burson
2011 (fall) Sergii Pershoguba, Ted Thorbeck
2011 (spring) Anirban Gangopadhyay, Baladitya Suri
2010 (fall) Christian J. Long, Tomasz M. Kott
2010 (spring) Tomasz M. Kott, Kevin Kirshenbaum
2009 (fall) Arun Luykx, Jen-Hao Yeh
Title: Evolution of the Structural Transition and Charge Order in SrAl4 Under Pressure
Abstract: Compounds with the tetragonal BaAl4-type crystal structure host a wide variety of complex behavior, including superconductivity, charge-order, and topological phases. SrAl4 shows charge-density wave order at TCDW = 243 K and a hysteretic structural transition at T* ~ 85 K. Recent investigations have shown these transitions to be very sensitive to chemical substitution. Furthermore, strain measurements have hinted at possible nematic order, which could provide a path to superconductivity, much like in the (Ba,Sr)Ni2As2 system. Another avenue to tune the electronic structure of these correlated systems is the application of pressure. In this talk, we will review the impact of chemical substitution and strain on SrAl4 and present new resistivity data under hydrostatic pressure. We report a decrease in TCDW and suppression of the structural transition hysteresis with increased pressure.