Welcome back to Fall 2021! Please join here for the latest updates:
https://connect.asminternational.org/sanfernandovalleychapter/homeThis first month's meeting will focus on Atomic Tunneling and Thermal Transport BaTiS3 presented by Dr. Austin Minnich from California Institute of Technology.
ABSTRACT:
The typical picture of atoms in solids is vibrations in a potential well with a single, well-defined minimum. In this talk, I will describe our observation of an atom in a double-well potential using inelastic neutron scattering. Remarkably, the quantum-mechanical nature of the atom leads to it existing in both locations simultaneously, as indicated by a low-energy inelastic feature in the neutron spectra. This atomic tunneling system may also be responsible for the ultralow thermal conductivity that is among the lowest ever observed in a fully dense crystalline solid.
Austin Minnich is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology. He received his Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in 2006 and his PhD from MIT in 2011, after which he started his position at Caltech. He is the recipient of a 2013 NSF CAREER Award, a 2015 ONR Young Investigator Award, a 2017 Director of Research Award from the Navy, the 2017 Junior Prize from the International Photothermal and Photoacoustics Association, the 2017 Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award, and a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Join us Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 7 pm (PST).