Events List for the Academic Year
Event Time:
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 318
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2025-08-06T15:00:00
2025-08-06T16:00:00
Dwarf galaxies as laboratories for the interstellar medium at low metallicity
Event Information:
Abstract:
Star formation is the driver of galaxy evolution. Understanding the properties of the cold, star-forming gas in the interstellar medium (ISM) is therefore of crucial importance. In this talk, I will present recent developments in high-resolution (sub-parsec) hydrodynamical simulations of the stellar feedback-regulated ISM and their predictions for chemical properties and line emissions, leveraging a novel hybrid method for ISM chemistry that captures the non-equilibrium effects of molecular hydrogen (H2). I will show that steady-state chemistry significantly over-predicts the abundances of H2 but not carbon monoxide (CO), leading to a reduced conversion factor (X_CO), especially at low metallicities where the H2 formation time becomes much longer than the dynamical time. On parsec scales, X_CO varies by orders of magnitude from place to place, primarily driven by the transition from atomic carbon to CO. Finally, I will present simulations combining ISM chemistry and dust evolution (sputtering and dust growth) and show how dust growth helps explain the observed CO luminosity in the low-metallicity WLM dwarf galaxy. Our results have important implications for galaxies observed in the early universe by JWST.
Bio:
Chia-Yu Hu is currently an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Astrophysics at the National Taiwan University, studying various problems in astrophysics using high-performance computer simulations. Research topics include the interstellar medium, stellar feedback, galactic winds, turbulence modeling, and numerical methods.
Learn More:
Read his faculty page: Chia-Yu Hu
Read his Github page: Chia-Yu Hu
Event Location:
HENN 318
Event Time:
Friday, July 25, 2025 | 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Event Location:
BRIM 188
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2025-07-25T13:00:00
2025-07-25T15:30:00
Directional Anomalous Skin Effect in ReO₃
Event Information:
Abstract:
Rhenium oxide (ReO₃) is one of the most highly conducting metals, and has the lowest reported low-temperature residual resistivity of any oxide material. This property endows it with a remarkably long low-temperature electronic mean free path, comparable to those seen in the ultrapure delafossites. In the quasi-2D delafossite material palladium colbaltate (PdCoO₂), recent broadband microwave spectroscopy studies have observed a novel directional anomalous skin effect (ASE).
These studies found that the anisotropy of the ASE in PdCoO₂ is influenced by the relative alignment of surface currents and the facets of its Fermi surface. This anisotropy even extends to the frequency-dependence of the surface resistance. Recently developed nonlocal Boltzmann transport models are able to describe its skin effect response, indicating that it falls between the ballistic and viscous-like transport regimes.
The success of this new model motivated us to investigate the anomalous skin effect response in ReO₃, and in doing so, test the predictions of the generalized theory of the skin effect in a material distinct from PdCoO₂ in two main ways: it has a more complex fully three-dimensional electronic structure with multiple Fermi surface sheets of different character, and has potentially different defect scattering behaviours.
As an additional test to these models, we study samples of ReO₃ that have been irradiated with high-energy electrons to introduce homogenous point-like defects.
Our microwave spectroscopy results reveal a rich anisotropy in the anomalous skin effect response in ultrapure ReO₃ that depends not only on the direction of surface currents with respect to crystallographic direction, but also on the direction of electromagnetic propagation. The novel skin effect models accurately predict the response for some situations, but fail in others. We suggest possible reasons for this discrepancy, by considering the Fermi surface geometry, and referring to de Haas-van Alphen measurements reported in the literature. Furthermore, our measurements of high-energy electron-irradiated ReO₃ samples found a skin effect response in the diffusive regime, confirming that a low residual resistivity is a necessary condition of the phenomenology observed in the pristine ReO₃ samples.
Event Location:
BRIM 188
Event Time:
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
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2025-07-22T11:00:00
2025-07-22T12:00:00
PHAS Tuesday Tea!
Event Information:
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Spring Weekly PHAS TUESDAY TEA!
This is the best physics community tea event in town!
Join us Tuesdays from 11am-noon in the atrium outside of HENN 200 for some social chit-chat and tasty treats!
We welcome all new summer students, new grad students, staff and faculty to meet new-to-you colleagues, catch up with your physics community and to learn about current happenings in the PHAS Department.
Your hosts from the EDI Community Building Working Group are:
Jess McIver
Adele Ruosi
Evan Goetz
Mona Berciu
Howard Li
Mandana Amiri
We look forward to meeting you!
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Event Time:
Sunday, July 20, 2025 | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Room 182
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2025-07-20T09:00:00
2025-07-20T17:00:00
Machine Learning for Astrophysics (ML4Astro 2025)
Event Information:
Abstract:
ML4Astro 2025 is a one-day workshop co-located with ICML 2025 bringing together leading 4experts at the intersection between machine learning and astrophysics.
Speakers include:
Shirley Ho (CCA/Polymathic)
Berthy Feng (MIT/IAIFI)
Siddharth Mishra0Sharma (Anthropic/Boston University)
Ann Zabludoff (University of Arizona/Steward Observatory)
Joshua S. Speagle (University of Toronto)
Registration:
Meeting website: Rationale - Machine Learning for Astrophysics
Registration: to register for the workshop (in-person or remotely), submit this form: ICML 2025 Workshop on Machine Learning for Astrophysics | Registration Form. The registration deadline is July 6th, 2025. Workshop registration is free.
Event Location:
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Room 182
Event Time:
Thursday, July 17, 2025 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Event Location:
BRIM 311
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2025-07-17T10:00:00
2025-07-17T11:00:00
The Strange Universe of Quantum Phases Driven by Interplay between Multipoles and Conduction Electrons
Event Information:
Multipolar moments embedded in a metallic setting paves a new route to extend the landscape of novel quantum phenomena beyond the spin-only paradigm [1]. A model material platform for exploring multipolar physics is the cubic heavy-fermion system PrTr_2Al_20 (Tr = Ti, V). This system features a nonmagnetic ground state in which the magnetic dipolar moment (spin) is absent, but higher-rank multipolar moments (quadrupoles and octupoles) are active [2]. The Kondo entanglement of these local multipolar moments with conduction electrons results in a rich phase diagram comprising multipolar orders, non-Fermi liquid (NFL) phase, and exotic superconductivity [2-5]. In this talk, I will present our experimental investigation into the multipolar ordered phases multipolar quantum criticality and novel superconductivity in PrTr_2Al_20, which contrast sharply from those in the familiar magnetic settings. References [1] S. Paschen and Q. Si, Nat. Rev. Phys. 3, 9-26 (2021) [2] A. Sakai and S. Nakatsuji, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 80, 063701 (2011) [3] K. Matsubayashi, T. Tanaka, A. Sakai et al., Phys. Rev. Letts. 109, 187004 (2012) [4] M. Fu, A. Sakai, N, Sogabe et al., J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 89, 013704 (2020) [5] A. Sakai, Y. Matsumoto, M. Fu et al., Nat. Commun 16, 2114 (2025)
Speaker Bio: Dr. Mingxuan Fu received her undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of Toronto in 2010 and earned her PhD in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics from McMaster University in 2015. She subsequently held a joint postdoctoral position with Professor Collin Broholm at Johns Hopkins University and the NIST Center for Neutron Research, followed by a NSERC postdoctoral fellowship under Professor Stephen Julian at the University of Toronto (2015–2019). In 2019, Dr. Fu joined the University of Tokyo as a JSPS Fellow and is currently a Project Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics. She is a member of Professor Satoru Nakatsuji’s research group. Her research experiences encompass several central themes in quantum materials, including quantum critical phenomena and exotic superconductivity in strongly correlated electron systems, frustrated quantum magnetism, and topological materials, and her current focus is on multipolar-driven quantum phenomena and functional topological antiferromagnets.
Event Location:
BRIM 311
Event Time:
Tuesday, July 15, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
atrium outside of HENN 200
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2025-07-15T11:00:00
2025-07-15T12:00:00
PHAS Tuesday Tea!
Event Information:
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Spring/Summer Weekly PHAS TUESDAY TEA!
This is the best physics community tea event in town!
Join us Tuesdays from 11am-noon in the atrium outside of HENN 200 for some social chit-chat and tasty treats!
We welcome all new summer students, new grad students, staff and faculty to meet new-to-you colleagues, catch up with your physics community and to learn about current happenings in the PHAS Department.
Your hosts from the EDI Community Building Working Group are:
Jess McIver
Adele Ruosi
Evan Goetz
Mona Berciu
Howard Li
Mandana Amiri
We look forward to meeting you!
Event Location:
atrium outside of HENN 200
Event Time:
Friday, July 11, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Event Location:
TRIUMF MOB Conference Room - 4004 Wesbrook Mall
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2025-07-11T12:30:00
2025-07-11T15:00:00
Detecting Antihydrogen Annihilations in ALPHA-g for Measurement of Gravitational Free Fall
Event Information:
Abstract:Antihydrogen, the bound state of an antiproton and a positron, is an ideal system for testing fundamental symmetries between matter and antimatter. The Antihydrogen Laser PHysics Apparatus (ALPHA) at CERN has a proven history of producing and trapping antihydrogen atoms, with many precision tests of charge-parity-time (CPT) symmetry. The new ALPHA-g apparatus extends this program to a test of gravity, directly probing the applicability of the weak equivalence principle (WEP) to an antimatter system for the first time.
This dissertation presents the first ALPHA-g results, which confirm that Earth’s gravity acts downwards on antimatter. The ratio between the gravitational acceleration of antihydrogen and hydrogen is estimated to be g/g = 0.75 ± 0.13 (statistical and systematic) ± 0.16 (simulation).
This measurement depends on accurately determining the annihilation positions of antihydrogen atoms released from the ALPHA-g magnetic trap, which is accomplished using a time projection chamber (TPC) detector. To reduce the substantial background due to cosmic rays, a time-of-flight barrel scintillator (BSC) detector was also implemented. The author’s primary contributions include the commission of the BSC, including devising and implementing time-of-flight measurements, leading to a significantly reduced background rate. Additional contributions include improving the TPC tracking algorithms to reach the required annihilation position resolution.
This dissertation begins with theoretical motivations for testing the WEP using antihydrogen, followed by an overview of the ALPHA apparatus and antihydrogen production. The TPC and BSC detectors are introduced, including the event reconstruction methods, with care to highlight the author’s work. Finally, the gravity measurement methodology and results, as well as future perspectives, are discussed.
This first direct test of gravity on antimatter rules out a large difference in the gravitational behaviour of antimatter and matter, furthering our understanding of the fundamental matter-antimatter symmetry, and laying the foundation for future precision WEP tests using antimatter.
Event Location:
TRIUMF MOB Conference Room - 4004 Wesbrook Mall
Event Time:
Friday, July 11, 2025 | 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Event Location:
Henn 318
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2025-07-11T09:00:00
2025-07-11T11:00:00
Electronic structure manipulation by distortions in square-net materials
Event Information:
Abstract:
Commonly used to describe the invariance of properties under transformations, symmetry is an important concept in mathematics and a fundamental principle in chemistry and physics. In crystalline materials, the crystal symmetry can impose strong constraints on the electronic structure. For example, in materials containing square-nets the highly symmetric square-net guarantees the existence of several line-node degeneracies in the electronic structure.
In this thesis, we study how breaking crystal symmetries affects a line-node degeneracy in square-net materials. To simulate the symmetry lowering, we exploit the naturally existing structural distortions in materials with antimony square-nets and track the changes in electronic structure by direct and indirect measurements. Combined with a simple tight-binding model and density functional theory calculations, we establish a framework that explains the evolution of the electronic structure upon breaking fourfold and n glide symmetry. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements on the LaSbxTe2-x system provide evidence that breaking the n glide symmetry by selectively displacing half of the square-net atoms causes the opening of a large gap in the line-node degeneracy. Similar behavior is found in CaSb2 and EuSb2 that share the same broken n glide symmetry. Breaking fourfold symmetry, equivalent to stretching the lattice in one direction, only leads to marginal changes as we demonstrate for the case of YbSb2.
The LaSbxTe2-x system is unique in the simplicity of its electronic structure and richness of electronic phase transitions induced by symmetry breaking. The control parameter for these transitions is electron doping, which can be realized via bulk chemical substitution or in situ adatom deposition on the surface. The latter process is fully reversible and mimics electrostatic gating, opening a pathway towards applications of the associated gap opening in devices.
The developed framework to explain the electronic structure evolution is not limited to the two material families studied here and should generally apply to all square-net materials because it is based on symmetry rather than material specifics. This thesis therefore provides a good starting point for future investigations of the electronic structure of other square-net materials.
Event Location:
Henn 318
Event Time:
Friday, July 11, 2025 | 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
Hennings Building (UBC Vancouver Campus): 6224 Agricultural Road
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2025-07-11T08:00:00
2025-07-11T17:00:00
CONFERENCE: Frontiers in Biophysics (FiB)
Event Information:
About:
Frontiers in Biophysics (FiB) is a unique, student-organized conference in the Pacific Northwest that brings together cross-disciplinary researchers from biophysics, applied math, systems biology, mathematical biology, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, molecular biology and many others. With a focus on fostering connections, this conference provides an intimate and highly interactive setting where early-career scientists—graduate students and undergraduates in particular—have a valuable opportunity to engage with leading experts in the field and representatives from industry.
The conference proceedings will feature a variety of talks and posters from students and postdoctoral fellows and culminate in a Keynote presentation.
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Polly FordyceAssistant Professor in the Departments of Genetics and Bioengineering, Standford University
Dr. Polly Fordyce is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Genetics and a fellow of the ChEM-H Institute at Stanford University. Her pioneering work in biophysics integrates microfluidics, single-molecule analysis, and genomics to develop high-throughput screening methods for analysis of molecular interactions. Her work has significantly advanced our understanding of protein-DNA interactions, enzyme kinetics, and single-cell genomics. Dr. Fordyce holds numerous patents for her innovations, and her contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards such as the NIH New Innovator and Pioneer Awards, the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, and the Young Investigator Award from the Protein Society.
Event Location:
Hennings Building (UBC Vancouver Campus): 6224 Agricultural Road
Event Time:
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 | 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 318
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2025-06-24T15:00:00
2025-06-24T17:00:00
Gapless Topological Phases and Topological Holography
Event Information:
Abstract:
Topological phenomena have traditionally been associated with gapped phases—such as quantum Hall states and topological insulators and superconductors. In recent years, however, it has become clear that topology can also emerge in gapless phases and at critical points. Examples include gapless spin liquids and gapless symmetry-protected topological phases (gSPTs). In this thesis, I develop a general framework for a broad class of gapless topological phases. First, I introduce a cohomological classification of gSPTs based on the topological response theory. I then explore the implications of this classification including lattice model realizations and demonstrating agreement with alternative classification schemes in the literature.
A recent and powerful idea in the study of topological quantum phases is topological holography, which posits that the full topological structure of any phase, gapped or gapless, can be encoded in a topological order in one higher dimension. I show that, for gSPTs, this higher-dimensional bulk provides a complete description: the bulk theory reproduces the cohomological classification and captures all the defining properties of the gSPT. Finally, I offer a brief outlook on gapless topological phases beyond gSPTs, sketching a general theory of all finite-type gapless topological phases and their holographic descriptions.
Event Location:
HENN 318
Event Time:
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
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2025-06-24T11:00:00
2025-06-24T12:00:00
PHAS TUESDAY Tea!
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Spring Weekly PHAS TUESDAY TEA!
This is the best physics community tea event in town!
Join us Tuesdays from 11am-noon in the atrium outside of HENN 200 for some social chit-chat and tasty treats!
We welcome all new summer students, new grad students, staff and faculty to meet new-to-you colleagues, catch up with your physics community and to learn about current happenings in the PHAS Department.
Your hosts from the EDI Community Building Working Group are:
Jess McIver
Adele Ruosi
Evan Goetz
Mona Berciu
Howard Li
Mandana Amiri
We look forward to meeting you!
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Event Time:
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Add to Calendar
2025-06-24T11:00:00
2025-06-24T12:00:00
PHAS TUESDAY Tea!
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Spring Weekly PHAS TUESDAY TEA!
This is the best physics community tea event in town!
Join us Tuesdays from 11am-noon in the atrium outside of HENN 200 for some social chit-chat and tasty treats!
We welcome all new summer students, new grad students, staff and faculty to meet new-to-you colleagues, catch up with your physics community and to learn about current happenings in the PHAS Department.
Your hosts from the EDI Community Building Working Group are:
Jess McIver
Adele Ruosi
Evan Goetz
Mona Berciu
Howard Li
Mandana Amiri
We look forward to meeting you!
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Event Time:
Thursday, June 19, 2025 | 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Event Location:
Fox Cabaret (2321 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5T 3C9)
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2025-06-19T19:30:00
2025-06-19T22:00:00
Science, Stand-up, & Song
Event Information:
Science, Stand-Up, & Song is a science education initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between scientists and the public: connecting scientists with the community to laugh and learn together!
The show is hosted by Dr. Marissa Lithopoulos and will include 4 hilarious comedians, as well as a panel of 3 brilliant scientists. Marissa will also provide live music along the way!
The upcoming event is at 7:30 PM on June 19th at the Fox Cabaret!
Comedians:
Yumi Nagashima
Alannah Brittany
Bradley Fun
special guest
Scientists:
Dr. Chana Davis
Dr. David Ng
Dr. Adriana Suarez-Gonzalez
Event Location:
Fox Cabaret (2321 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5T 3C9)
Event Time:
Thursday, June 19, 2025 | 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Event Location:
Vancouver Public Library - Central Branch (Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level)
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2025-06-19T18:00:00
2025-06-19T19:30:00
How the Universe Works: An Introduction to Galactic Radio Astronomy
Event Information:
Curious about how the universe actually works? Join the experts from UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy to find out fun facts about everything from the Milky Way to radio waves in this new, accessible science series: How the Universe Works! All are welcome!
Abstract:
Imagine that you look up on a dark clear night, seeing countless stars scattered across the sky, divided by the hazy band of the Milky Way—our Galaxy. The haziness of the Galactic Plane is caused by vast clouds of dust lining the Galactic disk, which obscure much of the Galaxy from our sight. But what if we could see beyond the dust, revealing the hidden structures and objects that share our cosmic home? This is where Galactic radio astronomy truly shines, allowing us to peer through the darkness and uncover the Milky Way’s secrets.
In this talk, we’ll step beyond the limits of optical astronomy and into the invisible world of radio waves, mapping our Galaxy in a whole new way. From the birth of radio astronomy to the frontiers of modern research, we’ll explore how these maps not only help us understand the Milky Way but also allow us to remove it from our view—clearing the way to see the universe beyond.
Bio:
Dr. Thomas J. Rennie is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia, where he specializes in analyzing and interpreting radio maps of the Milky Way. After obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Rennie joined UBC to work on the Canadian Galactic Emission Mapper (CGEM) project, which focuses on a new telescope being built at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) in Penticton, BC. CGEM maps will play a key role in a global effort to further our understanding of our Galaxy and to look deeper and reveal the echo of the Big Bang (the Cosmic Microwave Background, or CMB) and probe the very earliest moments in the history of the universe.
Learn More:
About the Canadian Galactic Emission Mapper (CGEM) project: https://cgem.ubc.ca/
About the Dominion Radio Astrophysics Observatory (DRAO): https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/nrc-facilities/dominion-radio-astrophysical-observatory-research-facility
About the "Big Bang": https://science.nasa.gov/universe/the-big-bang/
About the Cosmic Microwave Background: https://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/education/graphic_history/microwaves.html
About Thomas Rennie: https://tjrennie.github.io/index.html
Event Location:
Vancouver Public Library - Central Branch (Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level)
Event Time:
Tuesday, June 17, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Add to Calendar
2025-06-17T11:00:00
2025-06-17T12:00:00
PHAS TUESDAY Tea!
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Spring Weekly PHAS TUESDAY TEA!
This is the best physics community tea event in town!
Join us Tuesdays from 11am-noon in the atrium outside of HENN 200 for some social chit-chat and tasty treats!
We welcome all new summer students, new grad students, staff and faculty to meet new-to-you colleagues, catch up with your physics community and to learn about current happenings in the PHAS Department.
Your hosts from the EDI Community Building Working Group are:
Jess McIver
Adele Ruosi
Evan Goetz
Mona Berciu
Howard Li
Mandana Amiri
We look forward to meeting you!
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Event Time:
Thursday, June 12, 2025 | 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Event Location:
CEME 2202
Add to Calendar
2025-06-12T17:00:00
2025-06-12T18:00:00
Modeling Poromechanics in Earthquake and Faulting Phenomena
Event Information:
Abstract:
Understanding strain localization and fault slip in earthquake systems requires insight into the coupled processes of fluid flow and deformation in porous media. This talk explores recent advances in modeling poromechanical mechanisms that govern these phenomena. Using physics-based numerical simulations within a continuum two-phase framework, the study captures the interplay between fluid pressure diffusion, nonlinear rheology, and dynamic weakening in compressible, fluid-saturated fault gouge. Results reveal how different frictional formulations influence shear band thickness, rupture speed, and energy dissipation. The transition between fast and slow slip modes will also be examined, alongside stability analyses that map the conditions for fluid-induced seismicity.
Bio:
Luca Dal Zilio is Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), where he leads the Computational Geophysics Lab at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. He was previously a senior researcher at ETH Zurich and postdoctoral researcher at Caltech. His research focuses on earthquake physics, poromechanics, and high-performance simulation of coupled geophysical processes. In 2025, he received a Nanyang Assistant Professorship Award to advance multi-scale modeling of hydromechanical fault systems.
Event Location:
CEME 2202
Event Time:
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Event Location:
CEME 2202
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2025-06-11T14:00:00
2025-06-11T15:00:00
Chemo-mechanics: from delamination of adhesive joints to failure of Li ion batteries
Event Information:
Abstract:
Crack growth in materials often arises from a coupled interplay between mechanical loading and chemical degradation. This talk explores two systems where such interactions govern failure: adhesively bonded ship structures in marine environments, and nickel-rich single-crystal cathode particles in lithium-ion batteries. The first part addresses delamination in maritime structures, where a composite superstructure is bonded to a steel hull using a thick (10mm) MMA adhesive. Drawing on results from the QUALIFY project, we examine saltwater-induced delamination, where competing mechanisms—cathodic delamination, free corrosion, and hydrolysis—can each dominate. Experiments identify hydrolysis as the main driver under oxygen- and ion-limited conditions. A transport-reaction model predicts crack growth based on water diffusion along the interface and accumulation of reaction products, leading to constant crack velocity in diffusion-limited regimes. The second part shifts to energy storage materials. In next-generation batteries, layered nickel-rich cathode particles swell during lithiation. Optical microscopy reveals lithium diffusion patterns within single crystals. Coupled chemo-mechanical simulations show that rapid discharge—on the order of 10 minutes—induces internal stresses sufficient to fracture large particles. These case studies illustrate how stress-assisted chemical processes drive failure across scales, and how combining experiments with transport-reaction-fracture models enables prediction of material reliability in chemically active environments.
Bio:
Norman Fleck’s main interests are in Micromechanics: the development of physically based models of deformation and fracture of engineering materials by experiment, theory and numerical analysis. The research is of broad scope and combines scientific insights with practical applications. A guiding philosophy has been to condense practical engineering design problems into fundamental problems in mechanics, then generate constitutive models and implement them within finite element code. Examples include compressive failure of engineering composites by microbuckling, sintering of thermal barrier coatings and the dependence of their toughness and erosion resistance upon microstructural morphology, coupled electro-mechanical switching of ferroelectric devices, fatigue life prediction, the mechanics of metal rolling of thin foil, size effects in plasticity—from hardness testing to cleavage at crack tips—and, more recently, electro-chemo-mechanical phenomena in solid-state lithium-ion batteries. Norman Fleck is Professor of Mechanics of Materials (since 1997) and Director of the Cambridge Centre for Micromechanics (since 1990) at the University of Cambridge. He was Head of the Mechanics, Materials and Design Division from 1996 to 2008. He is a member of several learned societies (FRS, FREng, NAE, Fellow of the European Mechanics Society), serves on advisory committees (Board of IUTAM), editorial boards of leading mechanics journals, and holds an honorary doctorate from Eindhoven University of Technology.
Event Location:
CEME 2202
Event Time:
Tuesday, June 10, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Add to Calendar
2025-06-10T11:00:00
2025-06-10T12:00:00
PHAS TUESDAY Tea!
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Spring Weekly PHAS TUESDAY TEA!
This is the best physics community tea event in town!
Join us Tuesdays from 11am-noon in the atrium outside of HENN 200 for some social time with your physics peeps!
We welcome all new summer students, new grad students, staff and faculty to meet new-to-you colleagues, catch up with your physics community and to learn about current happenings in the PHAS Department.
Your hosts from the EDI Community Building Working Group are:
Jess McIver
Adele Ruosi
Evan Goetz
Mona Berciu
Howard Li
Mandana Amiri
We look forward to meeting you!
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Event Time:
Thursday, June 5, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
HENN 318
Add to Calendar
2025-06-05T11:00:00
2025-06-05T12:00:00
Quantum chaotic systems and black holes: puzzles and lessons from an information-theoretic perspective
Event Information:
Abstract:
Most systems in nature are chaotic many-body systems, and show the universal phenomenon of thermalization. While some "coarse-grained" aspects of thermalization are familiar from our everyday lives, quantum information theory provides a window into more fine-grained universal properties of thermalizing systems. I will discuss examples from my work of insights and surprises that come from asking operationally motivated questions about quantum chaotic systems. I will also introduce approaches for addressing the elusive question of how and why universality emerges across systems with widely differing microscopic dynamics. Remarkably, there is a lot of evidence that black holes in their fundamental description can be seen as examples of highly chaotic quantum many-body systems. While this principle allows us to make predictions for black holes based on properties of quantum chaotic systems, such predictions are often in conflict with the semiclassical description of gravity in a regime where it should naively be valid. I will discuss a proposal for using computational complexity to understand the subtle relation between the semiclassical and fundamental descriptions of the black hole interior.
Bio:
Shreya Vardhan is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at Caltech. She received her Ph.D. at MIT in 2022, and was a postdoc at the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics from 2022 to April 2025. Shreya's research interests lie at the intersection of quantum information theory, quantum many-body physics, and quantum gravity. Her work has included topics in entanglement dynamics, the black hole information loss paradox, hydrodynamics, and information-theoretic properties of states in conformal field theories. One of her key goals in the next few years will be to better understand the interplay between the dynamics of information and the flow of energy and other conserved quantities in many-body systems. Another important goal will be to test and develop recent ideas about the role of complexity in black hole physics in the context of more realistic gravity models.
Learn More:
Watch her videos (there are more on Youtube):
BHI Colloquium Talks | 11.18.2024 | Shreya Vardhan (Stanford University): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo8OmGoz8VY
Shreya Vardhan (Stanford University): Entanglement dynamics from universal low-lying modes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYHd7MWatiY
Mixed-state entanglement and information recovery in evaporating black holes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItevkmLw7rE
Read her thesis: Chaos and Thermalization in Quantum Many-Body Systems and Gravity: https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/150679/vardhan-vardhan-phd-physics-2022-thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Event Location:
HENN 318
Event Time:
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200
Add to Calendar
2025-06-03T11:00:00
2025-06-03T12:00:00
PHAS TUESDAY Tea!
Event Information:
We welcome you to our new Spring Weekly PHAS TUESDAY TEA!
This is the best physics community tea event in town!
Join us Tuesdays from 11am-noon in the atrium outside of HENN 200 for some social chit-chat and tasty treats!
We welcome all new summer students, new grad students, staff and faculty to meet new-to-you colleagues, catch up with your physics community and to learn about current happenings in the PHAS Department.
Your hosts from the EDI Community Building Working Group are:
Jess McIver
Adele Ruosi
Evan Goetz
Mona Berciu
Howard Li
Mandana Amiri
We look forward to meeting you!
Event Location:
In the atrium outside of HENN 200