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Curriculum Vitae

Name: Mona Inesa Berciu

Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of British Columbia
6224 Agricultural Rd., Rm. 266
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada 		office: Hennings 266
phone: 604-822-6146
fax: 604-822-5234

Educational background:

Year Degree University Mentions
1989-1994 B.Sc. Physics Department of Physics
University of Bucharest
Romania 		Supervisor: Prof. Gh. Ciobanu
1994-1995 M.Sc. Physics Department of Physics
University of Toronto
Canada		 Supervisor: Prof. Sajeev John
1995-1999 Ph.D. Physics Department of Physics
University of Toronto
Canada		 Supervisor: Prof. Sajeev John

Ph.D. Thesis: A microscopic model
for non-Fermi-liquid behavior and
charge carrier pairing in a purely
repulsive 2D electron system;
Final defense: Oct. 28, 1999
2000-2002 Postdoc Princeton Materials Institute
Princeton University
U.S.A.		 Advisor: Prof. Ravin Bhatt
2002-2007 Assistant Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada		  
2007-2012 Associate Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada		  
2012- Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada		  

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Honours, Scholarships, Fellowships:

Year Scholarships/Fellowships Awarded by
1989 Honorable Mention and Special Prize for Best Female Participant at the XX International Physics Olympiad, Poland.  
1989-1994 Bursa de Merit (Scholarship for Excellency) Romanian Ministry of Education
1994-1995 Connaught Scholarship University of Toronto
1995-1996 Ontario Graduate Scholarship Ontario Board of Education
1996-1997
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship
  • Gordon Ferrie Hull Scholarship
  • Reginald Blyth Scholarship
  • Seymour H. Vosko Scholarship
  • McLean Junior Fellow
    		•
  • Ontario Board of Education
  • University of Toronto
  • University of Toronto
  • University of Toronto
    		•
    1997-1998
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship
  • Burton Fellowship
    		•
  • Ontario Board of Education
  • University of Toronto
    		•
    1998-1999
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship
  • Burton Fellowship
  • Gordon Ferrie Hull Scholarship
    		•
  • Ontario Board of Education
  • University of Toronto
  • University of Toronto
    		•
    2000-2002 Postdoctoral NSERC Fellowship Natural Sciences and Engineering
    Research Council of Canada
    2002-2007 University Faculty Award Natural Sciences and Engineering
    Research Council of Canada
    2003-2004 Early Career UBC Scholar Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia
    2003-2008 CFI New Opportunities (with Ingrid Stairs) Canadian Foundation for Innovation
    2003 Research Innovation Award Research Corporation
    2005-2008 CIAR Nanoelectronics Scholar Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
    2006-2008 Sloan Research Fellow Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
    2006-2007 Killam Prize for Excellence in Teaching Faculty of Science, UBC and Killam Foundation
    2008-2009 Killam Faculty Research Fellowship Faculty of Science, UBC and Killam Foundation
    2008-2012 CIAR Nanoelectronics Fellow Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
    2013 Medal for excellence in undergraduate teaching Canadian Association of Physicists
    2014-2015 Killam Prize for Excellence in Teaching Faculty of Science, UBC and Killam Foundation
    2019 Outstanding Referee American Physical Society
    2020 Fellow of the American Physical Society American Physical Society
    2019-2020 nominated for a Killam Teaching Prize Faculty of Science, UBC and Killam Foundation

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    Invited Talks:

    1. "D-wave Charge Carrier Pairing in a Purely Repulsive 2D Electron System", presented at the Quantum Optics and Condensed Matter Seminar, Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Nov. 15, 1999.
    2. "D-wave Charge Carrier Pairing in a Purely Repulsive 2D Electron System", presented at the Condensed Matter Seminar, Department of Physics, University of Waterloo, Nov. 25, 1999.
    3. "D-wave Charge Carrier Pairing in a Purely Repulsive 2D Electron System", presented at the Condensed Matter Seminar Series at Queen's University, Kingston, Jan. 26, 2000.
    4. "D-wave Charge Carrier Pairing in a Purely Repulsive 2D Electron System", presented at the Materials Theory Series, PMI, Princeton University, Febr. 29, 2000.
    5. "A microscopic model for non-Fermi-liquid behavior and d-wave pairing in the cuprates", presented at the Solid State Seminar, Department of Physics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Nov. 3, 2000.
    6. "A microscopic model for non-Fermi-liquid behavior and d-wave pairing in the cuprates", presented at the BrownBag Seminar, Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, Nov. 7, 2000.
    7. "A microscopic model for non-Fermi-liquid behavior and d-wave pairing in the cuprates", presented at the Solid State Seminar, Department of Physics, City College of New York, CUNY, Dec. 13, 2000.
    8. "A microscopic model for non-Fermi-liquid behavior and d-wave pairing in the cuprates", presented at the Solid State Seminar, Dalhousie University, Halifax, July 19, 2001.
    9. "Disorder effects on ferromagnetism in GaMnAs", presented at the Solid State Seminar, Dalhousie University, Halifax, July 20, 2001.
    10. "A microscopic model for non-Fermi-liquid behavior and d-wave pairing in the cuprates", Colloquium, University of Western Ontario, London, Sept. 6, 2001.
    11. "A microscopic model for non-Fermi-liquid behavior and d-wave pairing in the cuprates", Solid State Seminar, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Sept. 26, 2001.
    12. "Disorder effects on ferromagnetism in GaMnAs", Solid State Seminar, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Sept. 27, 2001.
    13. "Disorder effects on ferromagnetism in (III,Mn)V diluted magnetic semiconductors", Colloquium, Department of Physics, University of Akron, Akron, OH, Feb. 7, 2002.
    14. "Disorder effects on ferromagnetism in GaMnAs", Solid State Seminar, Argonne National Lab, Chicago, June 19, 2002.
    15. "Disorder effects on ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors", Workshop on Collective Phenomena in Disordered Insulators and Spin Glasses, Aspen Center for Physics, July 24, 2002.
    16. "A new scenario for non-Fermi liquid behavior and d-wave pairing in cuprate semiconductors", Workshop on Quantum Spin Collective Phenomena in Condensed Matter Physics, Lorentz Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, Aug. 12, 2002.
    17. "In search of the Hofstadter butterfly", CIAR summer school, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, May 16, 2003.
    18. "Disorder Effects on Ferromagnetism in Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors", plenary talk at the NW APS meeting, Portland, OR, May 30, 2003.
    19. "In search of the Hofstadter butterfly", Colloquium, University of Washington, Seattle, Dec 8, 2003.
    20. "First-Principles Study of Integer Quantum Hall Transitions in Mesoscopic Samples", PITP Workshop on Spins, Charges, Lattices, and Topology in low d, Vancouver, Feb. 1, 2004.
    21. "Numerical Approaches to Disorder Effects in Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors", invited talk at the APS March Meeting, Montreal, March 25, 2004.
    22. "Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors", invited lecture at the 3rd Summer School in Strongly Correlated Electron Systems, Debrecen, Hungary, Sept. 5-11, 2004.
    23. "In search of the Hofstadter butterfly", Colloquium, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC, Sept 24, 2004.
    24. "Mesoscopic fluctuations at Integer Quantum Hall Transitions in Mesoscopic Samples", Condensed Matter Seminar, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Feb 11, 2005.
    25. "In search of the Hofstadter butterfly", Colloquium, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Feb 12, 2005.
    26. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", invited talk at the Nano CIAR meeting, Banff, March 17-20, 2005.
    27. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", invited talk at the CIAR Quantum Materials Summer School, Vancouver, May 18, 2005.
    28. "Mesoscopic fluctuations at Integer Quantum Hall Transitions in Mesoscopic Samples", Condensed Matter Seminar, University of Notre Dame, IN, Oct. 3, 2005.
    29. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", invited talk at the Canadian-Polish Workshop on Nanospintronics, Wroclaw, Poland, Oct. 13, 2005.
    30. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", Colloquium, University of Victoria, Nov. 2, 2005.
    31. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", Colloquium, University of Waterloo, Feb. 23, 2006.
    32. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", Colloquium, Suranaree Institute of Technology, Thailand, April 11, 2006.
    33. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", Colloquium, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, April 13, 2006.
    34. "Green's function of a dressed particle", invited talk, "Spin, Charge and Topology" workshop, Banff, Aug 2, 2006.
    35. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", colloquium, UBC Department of Physics and Astronomy, Nov. 2, 2007.
    36. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", invited talk, UBC-Tokyo Conference on Novel Quantum Matter, Jan. 29, 2007.
    37. "Theory of spin phenomena at the nanoscale", invited talk, CIfAR Nanoelectronics Sprin meeting, April. 12-15, 2007.
    38. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", invited talk, Theory Canada 3 Meeting, Edmonton, June 13-16, 2007.
    39. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", invited talk, CAP Meeting, Saskatoon, June 17-20, 2007.
    40. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", condensed matter seminar, Simon Fraser University, Sept. 12, 2007.
    41. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", Brockhouse Institute seminar, McMaster University, Sept. 17, 2007.
    42. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", Condensed Matter Seminar, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio, Brazil, Oct. 22, 2007.
    43. "Green's function of a Holstein polaron", invited seminar during the "Moments and Multiplets in Mott Insulators" workshop, KITP, Santa Barbara, Dec. 6, 2007.
    44. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", seminar, University of Northern British Columbia, Feb. 14, 2008.
    45. "The Holstein polaron: results from numerical and analytical approaches", 1h lecture at the CIFAR-PITP International Summer School, Sherbrooke, June 5, 2008.
    46. "Manipulating spin and charge in diluted magnetic semiconductors", invited talk, CAP Congress, Quebec, June 8, 2008.
    47. "Spectral weight transfer in polaronic systems", LEES08, Whistler, July 3, 2008.
    48. "Spectral weight transfer for the Holstein polaron", condensed matter seminar, Notre Dame University, Oct. 16 2008.
    49. "Spectral weight transfer for the Holstein polaron", condensed matter seminar, Cornell University, Nov. 4, 2008.
    50. "Spectral weight transfer for the Holstein polaron", condensed matter seminar, Princeton University, Nov. 10, 2008.
    51. "Spectral weight transfer for the Holstein polaron", invited talk, MPI-UBC workshop on quantum materials, Stuttgart, Feb. 18, 2009.
    52. "The role of anions in pnictides", condensed matter seminar, KITP, March 12, 2009.
    53. "Spectral weight transfer for Holstein polarons", talk at UBC-Neel Grenoble meeting, March 30, 2009.
    54. "Momentum average approximations", invited talk, CAP Congress, Moncton, June 8, 2009.
    55. "Momentum average approximations for single polarons", invited talk, Quantum coherent properties of spins, Vancouver, Dec. 4, 2009.
    56. "Holstein polarons in the presence of disorder", invited talk, MPI-UBC workshop, Vancouver, May 14, 2010.
    57. "Investigating Single Polarons with the Momentum Average Approximation", invited talk, Emerging Trends in Advanced Correlated Materials, Capri, Italy, Oct. 7, 2010.
    58. Discussion leader at "100th Anniversary of Superconductivity: Hot Topics and Future Directions", Leiden, The Netherlands, April 4-8, 2011.
    59. "Polarons in bulk and near surfaces", lecture at the 2nd MPI-UBC summer school, Vancouver, Sept. 1, 2011.
    60. "Momentum average approximations for single polarons", invited talk at "Topical Group: Fundamental Science with Ultracold Molecules", ITAMP Harvard, Sept. 23, 2011.
    61. "Polarons + disorder", invited talk at "Workshop on impurities and disorder with first principles" , Oct. 5, MPI-UBC, Vancouver, 2011.
    62. "Magnon-mediated interactions depend strongly on the lattice structure", invited talk at the workshop on "New theory and methods in quantum research", Feb. 27, MPI-UBC, Vancouver, 2012.
    63. "Brief introduction to polarons and bipolarons", invited talk at the CIfAR Quantum Materials summer school, Vancouver, May 6, 2013.
    64. "New trends for dressed quasiparticles", invited talk at the CIfAR Quantum Materials Spring meeting, Vancouver, May 10, 2013.
    65. "The role of the lattice structure in determining magnon-mediated interactions between charge carriers doped into a magnetically ordered background", invited talk at the Superstripes conference, Ischia, Italy, May 29, 2013.
    66. "Another look at a hole in a cuprate layer", invited Workshop in Quantum Materials, Stuttgart, Germany, Dec 11, 2013.
    67. "A new paradigm for polaronic behavior", colloquium, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Feb. 13, 2014.
    68. "A new paradigm for polaronic behavior", colloquium, University of Tennessee, Feb. 24, 2014.
    69. "Using polar molecules to investigate polaron transitions", invited talk, CSC meeting, Vancouver, June 2, 2014.
    70. "Recent surprises regarding polaron behavior in condensed matter systems", invited talk, Workshop on Large-Scale Quantum Phenomena in Biological Systems, Galiano Island, June 7, 2014.
    71. "The Dynamics of a Quasiparticle in a Cuprate Layer is not Controlled by Spin Fluctuations", invited talk, Quantum Phenomena in Strongly Correlated Electrons, Krakow, Poland, June 16, 2014.
    72. "(about) Polarons and Bipolarons", invited talk, Superconductivity and Magnetism at Nanoscale, IMPRS summer school, Stuttgart, Germany, July 1, 2014.
    73. "Generic model and behaviour for a mixed valent material", invited talk, Strongly Correlated Topological Insulators: SmB6 and Beyond, Ann Arbor, USA, June 2-5, 2015
    74. "The dynamics of the quasiparticle in various cuprate models", invited talk, Theory Canada 10, June 11-13, 2015
    75. "The dynamics of the quasiparticle in various cuprate models", invited talk, M2S 2015, Geneva, August 23-28, 2015
    76. "Differences in the quasiparticle dynamics in the insulating limit for one-band and three-band cuprate models", invited talk, Ringberg Symposium on High-Temperature Superconductivity and Correlated-Electron Systems, Ringberg Castle, October 11-16, 2015
    77. "A new paradigm for polaronic behavior", condensed matter seminar, Universite de Montreal, Jan. 25, 2016
    78. "A new paradigm for polaronic behavior", condensed matter seminar, McGill University, Jan. 28, 2016
    79. "Differences between the insulating limit quasiparticles of various cuprate models", condensed matter seminar, Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, March 15, 2016
    80. "Differences between the insulating limit quasiparticles of various cuprate models", condensed matter seminar, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, March 22, 2016
    81. "Quasiparticle dynamics and interactions in non‐uniformly polarizable solids", invited talk at SBQMI workshop on "Solvation, non-uniform polarizability, and local field effects in solids, liquids, life, and devices", Vancouver, April 13, 2016
    82. "New paradigm for polaronic behavior", invited talk at Symposium on Recent Developments on 2D materials research, York, UK, May 18, 2016.
    83. "Non-Zhang-Rice Singlet Character of the First Ionization State of T-CuO", invited talk at "New quantum phases with frustration and entanglement", Cracow, Poland, June 19-22, 2016.
    84. "Differences in the quasiparticle dynamics for one-band and three-band cuprate models", invited talk at Superstripes 2016, Ischia, Italy, June 23-29, 2016
    85. "One-hole and two-holes low-energy states in a cuprate layer", invited talk at the Max Planck-UBC-U Tokyo Workshop on Quantum Materials, Tokyo, Dec. 5, 2016.
    86. "New paradigm for polaronic behavior", colloquium, University of Ottawa, Feb. 9, 2017.
    87. "One-hole and two-hole low-energy states in a cuprate layer", invited talk at Superstripes 2017, Ischia, Italy, June 3-10, 2017.
    88. "Beyond the polaron paradigm: where the real fun begins", invited talk at CoQIPC, Vienna, Aug 15-18, 2017.
    89. "Why some seemingly small changes in the model can have major consequences for the resulting physics", invited talk at International workshop of Frontiers of Research in Quantum Materials, Stuttgart, Dec 18-20, 2017.
    90. "How to model holes doped into a cuprate layer", invited lecture at MP-UBC-UT Winter School, Tokyo, Feb. 15-18, 2018.
    91. "Effective model for the magnon-mediated attraction in the parent cuprates", March Meeting, Los Angeles, March 5-9, 2018.
    92. "The magnon-mediated attraction between two holes doped in a CuO2 layer", invited talk at the 2019 CAP Congress, SFU, Burnaby, June 6, 2019.
    93. "The magnon-mediated attraction between two holes doped in a CuO2 layer", invited talk at the SNS2019, Tokyo, June 16-21, 2019.
    94. "Using polaronic effects to engineer the dispersion and effective interactions of quasiparticles", Invited talk at the HQS Workshop, Ottawa, June25-28, 2019.
    95. "Polarons with unusual dispersions and effective interactions", invited tandem talk at the International Workshop in Correlated Dynamics ain Eenergy Conversion, Gottingen, Germany, Sep. 2-4, 2019.
    96. "Variational studies of polarons and bipolarons", invited talk at the New Frontiers in Quantum Materials Research workshop, Vancouver, Oct 3-4, 2019.
    "Light bipolarons from strong Peierls electron-phonon coupling", invited symposium talk, APS March Meeting in Denver, March 5, 2020 (meeting cancelled because of the coronavirus).
    97. "Modeling the effects of electron-phonon coupling on RIXS spectra", invited talk at MPI-UBC-UT annual meeting, March 1, 2020.
    98. "Critical nature of the Ni spin state in doped NdNiO2", invited talk at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society, March 2021.
    99. "Beyond the polaron paradigm: where the real fun begins", invited seminar, Stanford University, October 2021.
    100. "Polarons: new results in an old problem", invited seminar, IFW Dresden, Nov. 22, 2022.
    101. "Polarons: new results in an old problem", invited seminar, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, May 19, 2023.
    102. "Is spin-charge separation in 1D antiferromagnets the rule or the exception?", invited talk, Quantum Magnetism and Topology, Pohang, Korea, June 29, 2023.
    103. "Pair-hopping interactions and some of their consequences", plenary talk, SCES2023, Incheon, Korea, July 4, 2023.
    104. "Polarons: new results in an old problem", invited seminar, Northeastern University, Boston, Oct. 25, 2023.
    105. "Polaron spectral functions at low carrier concentrations", invited talk, MPI-UBC-UTokyo Workshop, Tokyo, Dec. 12, 2023.
    106. "Polarons and bipolarons”, invited 2h lecture at the MaQTech/CIFAR Quantum Materials Summer School, Toronto, April 29-May 3, 2024.
    107. “Recent results on the competition between Coulomb repulsion and electron-phonon coupling”, invited talk, Workshop on Quantum Materials in Quantum Science Era, Toronto, May 1-3, 2024.

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    Conference Presentations:

    1. "Solitons and Spin Flux", presented at the CIAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research) Summer School on Superconductivity, Hamilton, Canada, May 31- June 4, 1995.
    2. "Midgap States and Magnetic Solitons in Low Dimensional Mott-Hubbard Semiconductors", presented at the 1996 ECAMI (European-Canadian Mesoscopic Initiative) Workshop on Nanostructures and Mesoscopic Systems, Ottawa, Canada, June 12-14, 1996.
    3. "The Kosterlitz-Thouless transition", presented at the CIAR Summer School on Superconductivity, Sherbrooke, Canada, June 4-7, 1997.
    4. "A Microscopic Model for Non-Fermi Liquid Behavior in a Doped Mott Insulator", presented at the 1999 APS Centennial Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, March 20-26, 1999.
    5. "Multi-soliton configurations in a doped antiferromagnetic Mott insulator", presented at the CIAR Summer School on Superconductivity, Banff, Canada, May 15-17, 1999.
    6. "Spin-charge separation in the 1D Hubbard model", March Meeting 2000, Minneapolis, MN, March 20-24, 2000.
    7. "D-wave Charge Carrier Pairing in a Purely Repulsive 2D Electron System", March Meeting 2000, Minneapolis, MN, March 20-24, 2000.
    8. "Mean-Field Approach to Disorder Effects of Ferromagnetism in GaMnAs ", March Meeting 2001, Seattle, March 12-16, 2001.
    9. "Magnetic Structure Factor in Cuprate Superconductors: The Meron-Vortex Model", March Meeting 2001, Seattle, March 12-16, 2001.
    10. "Ferromagnetism in GaMnAs: why is disorder helpful?" , Corporate Affiliates Program, Princeton University, May 11, 2001.
    11. "Nucleation of meron-antimerons pairs with doping in an antiferromagnetic Mott insulator: effect on the magnetic structure factor", poster at the Strongly Correlated Electron Systems 2001 conference, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Aug. 5-10, 2001.
    12. "Mean-field approach to disorder effects on ferromagnetism in GaMnAs", poster at the Strongly Correlated Electron Systems 2001 conference, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Aug. 5-10, 2001.
    13. "Spin-Waves in Disorder III-V Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors", March Meeting 2002, Indianapolis, March 17-23, 2002. ( also ).
    14. "Magnetic properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors: the role of anisotropy, disorder and sign-oscillations in the effective exchange interactions between Mn spins", MRS Spring 2003 meeting, San Francisco, Apr. 24, 2003.
    15. "Magnetic susceptibility of diluted magnetic semiconductors at low carrier densities", CAP Congress, Vancouver, June 7, 2005.
    16. "Manipulation of nanoscale spin and charge textures in diluted magnetic semiconductors using superconducting vortices", CAP Congress, Vancouver, June 8, 2005.

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