Nitin Samarth honored with Adler Lectureship Award from American Physical Society

Nitin Samarth

Nitin Samarth, Verne M. Willaman Professor of Physics, has been selected to receive the American Physical Society’s 2024 David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics. The award recognizes an outstanding contributor to the field of materials physics who is notable for high quality research, review articles, and lecturing. 

Combining materials may support unique superconductivity for quantum computing

Figure from research

By Gail McCormick

A new fusion of materials, each with special electrical properties, has all the components required for a unique type of superconductivity that could provide the basis for more robust quantum computing. The new combination of materials, created by a team led by researchers at Penn State, could also provide a platform to explore physical behaviors similar to those of mysterious, theoretical particles known as chiral Majoranas, which could be another promising component for quantum computing.

Shining a light on molecules: L-shaped metamaterials can control light direction

Scientific image taken by a microscope

Polarized light waves spin clockwise or counterclockwise as they travel, with one direction behaving differently than the other as it interacts with molecules. This directionality, called chirality or handedness, could provide a way to identify and sort specific molecules for use in biomedicine applications, but researchers have had limited control over the direction of the waves — until now.