Kukreja group at UC Davis is currently hiring for a postdoctoral position focused on ultrafast optical pump
probe studies of quantum materials.
Position Overview: The position will involve research projects focusing on understanding the role of
electronic and magnetic degrees of freedom in quantum materials and their dynamical behavior under
laser excitation. Low temperature optical pump probe setup at Kukreja Laboratory will be utilized to
access fundamental timescales to study the evolution of electronic and magnetic order at femtosecond
to picosecond timescales across phase transitions, while time‐resolved x‐ray diffraction at synchrotron
sources will be utilized to study structural evolution. In order to investigate the ultrafast behavior as a
function of sample ground state, thin films samples will be carefully tuned using parameters such as
epitaxial strain, anion stoichiometry and cation doping.
Candidates interested in optical pump probe or time‐resolved x‐ray studies of complex oxides and
magnetic materials are strongly encouraged to apply. In addition, the position will also involve further
extending and developing the optical pump probe laboratory, and handling large x‐ray scattering datasets
obtained at user facilities such as National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS II), Advanced Photon Source
(APS), Advanced Light Source (ALS) and Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and LCLS II,
Project Overview: Quantum materials have emerged as potential candidates to realize energy‐efficient
computing for ever‐increasing technological demands of the internet of things, big data, and cloud
computing. Quantum materials display strong correlations between their spin, charge, orbital, and lattice
degrees of freedom, which results in a rich variety of electronic and magnetic properties. Emergence of
novel quantum states under non‐equilibrium conditions in quantum materials challenges the limits of
understanding at microscopic length scales and ultrafast time scales. However, fundamental
understanding of the role of nanoscale disorder and fluctuations in quantum materials is impeded by the
lack of experimental methods which can access both characteristic lengthscales and timescales. This
project will utilize optical pump‐probe and coherent x‐ray methods to overcome this knowledge gap to
develop spatio‐temporal understanding of complex oxides. These studies will enable mapping of the
domain dynamics and correlations as a function of emergent electronic and magnetic ordering in strongly
correlated systems. These studies will lead to development of a complete overview of electronic,
magnetic, and structural properties of quantum materials with time scales down to the ultrafast regime
and atomic resolution, to unravel nanoscale disorder in quantum materials and its evolution upon optical
excitation.