New Cohort of Moore Experimental Physics Investigators Includes Stevan Nadj-Perge

Stevan Nadj-Perge, professor of applied physics and materials science, has been named one of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's 19 new Experimental Physics Investigators and will receive a five-year $1.25 million grant to further his research goals.

"I'm deeply honored by this award," says Nadj-Perge. "It will provide us with an unusual opportunity to pursue some of the riskier ideas that we likely wouldn't be able to work on otherwise."

Indeed, that is the Moore initiative's intent. "This initiative is designed to support novel and potentially high-payoff projects that will advance the field of physics but might be hard to fund through traditional funding sources," said Theodore Hodapp, program director for the initiative, in a release from the Moore Foundation. "Via an open call for proposals, we have lowered the barriers for researchers from a wide range of institutions and experiences to apply. We are delighted with the variety of ideas and projects this year's cohort represents."

Nadj-Perge's group, which is part of the Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI) and the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM) at Caltech, focuses on uncovering and demystifying the unique behaviors of nanomaterials and nanodevices. In particular, he is interested in two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, which are only a few atoms thick. These materials offer novel opportunities for exploring exotic electronic states on the nanoscale. In particular, Nadj-Perge is interested in using these materials to create new quantum phases formed by the electrons strongly interacting with each other. Some of these phases are unconventional superconductors while others display nontrivial topological properties, where for example, they do not conduct electricity in bulk but have highly conductive edges and can host exotic quasiparticles that are potentially useful for quantum computing.

"Our hope is that by improving our understanding of novel phases that emerge from strong electronic interactions, this work can lead to the development of the next generation of superconducting devices that can be used for quantum science," says Nadj-Perge. "The behavior of strongly correlated phases is often unpredictable and complex, making the development of phases with specific properties a challenge. This funding will be used to explore novel strategies for stabilizing superconductors and topological phases based on two-dimensional materials that can sustain their properties at higher temperatures."

Nadj-Perge earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Belgrade University and his doctoral degree from Delft University of Technology. He came to Caltech as a visiting associate in 2015, was named assistant professor in 2016, and professor in 2023.

Among other distinctions, Nadj-Perge was named a Kavli Nanoscience Institute-Wheatley Scholar in 2017, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in 2020, and was honored with the 2021 Marko Jarić Prize.

Previous Caltech faculty members to receive the award include Manuel Endres and David Hsieh, who were both named experimental physics investigators in 2022, and Andrei Faraon, who received the honor in 2023.