Over the past eight years the Moore Foundation’s Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative has been funding people who can fundamentally change our understanding of complex quantum matter in solid materials. The initiative team has used a variety of funding tools to support the scientists who are investigating these quantum systems. Here we spotlight three long-term grantees: Peter Abbamonte, Jennifer Hoffman and Joseph Checkelsky – all scientists known for their track records of innovative and high-quality experimental research.
“These three scientists are not afraid to undertake tough challenges, where probability of failure is significant. They demonstrate a great passion for the problems they consider important, and they know how to tackle them,” says Dušan Pejaković, program director for the initiative.
Peter Abbamonte, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In 2014 and again in 2019, Peter Abbamonte was selected as an Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Experimental Investigator. These investigators were selected through a competition open to all researchers at academic institutions in the United States. They are chosen through a rigorous expert review based on their track record in original research in quantum materials as well as the originality and potential impact of their proposed five-year research program.
Abbamonte is developing a unique Rutherford scattering technique in which pairs of electrons scatter near a surface, allowing the reconstruction of the microscopic electron-electron interaction in quantum materials. This technique, which has no precedent in materials spectroscopy, should enable Abbamonte to read off the microscopic mechanism behind the formation of quantum phases in materials, including the nature of the “glue” that binds electrons together in unconventional superconductors.
Jennifer Hoffman, Harvard University
Jennifer Hoffman was also selected as an investigator in 2014 and received one of the initiative’s 2020 Flexible Funding grants. These grants support projects with exceptionally high potential impact that are selected through a competition open to any researcher anywhere in the world. The submissions are evaluated by experts through a double-blind anonymous reviewing process and the grants are extremely competitive – less than two percent of the submitted applications are funded.
As experimentalists, Hoffman and Abbamonte are masterful at adding creative new twists to existing experimental methods to make them more powerful and to obtain new types of information about quantum properties of materials.
Hoffman is developing a novel microscope in which a small cantilever is placed in close proximity to a sample to measure miniscule spatial and temporal variations in quantum states. This technique will help unravel the complex interplay between different ordered states of quantum matter, such as magnetism, superconductivity and topological order.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to develop this versatile new microscope to measure dissipative processes in quantum materials. The generous grant from the Moore Foundation allows us to go out on a limb and implement an unusual cantilever geometry at the lowest achievable temperatures and highest magnetic fields, to explore a vast space of previously inaccessible electronic and magnetic phases.” Jennifer Hoffman, Clowes Professor of Science at Harvard University.
Joseph Checkelsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In 2013, Joseph Checkelsky was one of the first Moore Fellows in Materials Synthesis funded by the initiative. These fellowships incentivize the creation of roles specializing in synthesis of materials at universities in the United States. Checkelsky’s selection as a fellow was motivated by his exceptional track record of original synthesis research and by the fact that supporting him was going to give a strong boost to the materials synthesis capacity at MIT, one of the leading centers of excellence in the field. Then in 2019, Checkelsky’s leadership in the field led to his selection as an Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Materials Synthesis Investigator.
Checkelsky is a creative materials grower with a deep understanding of both physics and chemistry. This enables him to envision, and then realize, new materials that exhibit novel electronic and magnetic properties.
"These three scientists are not afraid to undertake tough challenges, where probability of failure is significant."
Reflecting on the long-term relationships with these scientists, Pejaković says “Once a good rapport between a grantee and a funder is achieved, both parties can reap significant benefits in terms of better understanding, more effective communication and partnership.”
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