Can Uzundal is a 6th year Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry working with Professor Feng Wang in Department of Physics.
Can received a B.Sc. and M. Sc. In Chemistry from Bilkent University, Turkey where he investigated electrochemical processes in unconventional media such as ionic liquids and liquid crystals.
Can’s doctoral research focuses on ultrafast spectroscopy and nonlinear optics with an emphasis towards developing photon efficient optical nonlinearities.
As a Kavli ENSI fellow, Can will focus on characterizing and engineering terahertz acoustic phonon metamaterials using van der Waals heterostructures. Despite its potential, the engineering of terahertz phonons has been limited by the challenges of achieving the required material control at sub-nanometer precision and ensuring efficient phonon coupling at terahertz frequencies. Recently, the Wang group developed a bottom-up strategy for terahertz acoustic phonon engineering where the acoustic phonon device is built layer by layer using van der Waals heterostructures, achieving precision at the single-atom thickness level. This approach serves as an all-in-one platform for acoustic phonon generation, propagation and detection. Utilizing this platform Can will study exciton-phonon coupling in Moire’ materials and phononic metamaterials at terahertz frequencies. Terahertz phononic engineering may ultimately enable rational design of structured materials with optimal thermal transport properties for applications such as thermal insulators, quantum transducers and acoustic filters.