Welcome

Welcome to the webpages of the Carroll Research Group at Wake Forest University. We research and explore the fundamental symmetries of material structures to learn what deeper connections between such symmetries and emergent thermal, electrical, optical and magnetic properties might exist. Our approach is to study complex, low-dimensional material structures like 2D dichalcogenides with modulation and energy filtered doping schemes or perovskite-based 1D systems that form time crystals. In such objects, the local geometry, topology, and scale can be easily altered or modified leading to exotic interactions among the carriers of a phenomenon.

Our fundamental studies are aimed at revealing why emergent phenomena express the same universal symmetries as found in particle physics and cosmology. However, our studies also “open the door” to exciting new opportunities in application. And since we have traditionally been a rather large group, we have been able to address of a few of these opportunities in the fields of: 1) energy harvesting technologies, 2) liquid ion separation technologies, 3) lighting/lasers, 4) novel sensor systems and 5) quantum information processing.

So, we see ourselves as a peculiar hybrid between device/materials physics and fundamental physics. Both basic and applied and both with its own impact for our society: this is our perspective. We strive to add a voice of distinction to the world’s scientific conversation. In doing so, our work has produced hundreds of publications and patents, tens of thousands of citations by other scientists, and a wide range of interest in the public press (CNN, NYT, CBS, BBC, etc.). We are fortunate to be funded by federal agencies such as NASA, NSF, AFOSR, ARO, and NIH, as well as private sources and we are regular contributors to scientific and professional conferences around the world. Finally, we are proud to be the founding members of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University.