The award will support research into quantum science.
Professors Thomas Scaffidi of the Department of Physics & Astronomy has received the Early Career Research Program (ECRP) award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The award goes to untenured scientists at the start of their careers who demonstrate outstanding promise for making field-defining discoveries. Scaffidi’s lab draws inspiration from the way water flows to understand and harness the quantum dynamics of electrons in novel materials. “This research is exciting because it connects fundamental physics with practical applications, enabling us to gain deeper insights into quantum materials,” said Scaffidi. “By developing new theoretical frameworks, we can better understand and improve the transport properties of strongly correlated materials, which could lead to advancements in low-energy electronics and related technologies.