Stephanie Mack

January 1, 2019

Home Faculty Advisor: Professor Jeffrey Neaton, Department of Physics, UC Berkeley

Host Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bartomeu Monserrat,  Department of Physics, University of Cambridge

Stephanie obtained her BSc from the University of Ottawa in 2013, specializing in Physics.  She then joined the Neaton group completing her Masters in 2015 and currently studying towards a Ph.D.  Her research is on Density Functional Theory (DFT), examining topological and electronic properties of complex materials.

In this project, the first-principles based techniques that Stephanie has utilized to date will be expanded through working with experts in Cambridge in structure prediction and advanced electron-phonon coupling techniques.  These techniques will be applied to exploring how electronic and topological features can be manipulated with pressure in materials. The pressure is known to have enormous effects on material properties, but its use for tuning topology remains an open field that could yield surprising results for controlling these unique properties for future device functionality.