Date Mar 5, 2025, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Location Bowen Hall 222 Details Event Description Unlocking Non-Equilibrium Phases: How Strain and Light Transform Mott MaterialsAbstract: Over a century has passed since Röntgen first discovered X-rays, launching a revolution in how we probe and understand materials. Today, advances in X-ray optics and ultrafast sources have achieved few nm spatial and sub-picosecond temporal resolution, enabling us to observe dynamic processes under realistic conditions. In this talk, I will show how we harness these powerful capabilities to unravel nanoscale phenomena in quantum materials. I will focus on recent experiments in the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4. By mapping structural distortions in real space and in real time, we gain insight into how lattice strain, confinement, and electronic correlations intertwine to produce striking anisotropic domain patterns and emergent supercrystal phases when placed in a biaxial strain state. Moreover, I will discuss how ultrafast photoexcitation provides a route to switch and manipulate these phases on timescales relevant for next-generation electronic and magnetic devices. Taken together, these studies offer a window into the fundamental mechanisms that govern Mott transitions, while illustrating the broader promise of modern X-ray methods for addressing key questions in materials science—from energy conversion and storage to information processing.Bio: Andrej Singer is an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Hamburg in 2012 and later served as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Oleg Shpyrko at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Singer’s research explores how materials evolve under non-equilibrium conditions, spanning quantum materials to applied energy systems. His group develops and applies coherent X-ray scattering techniques at synchrotrons and free-electron lasers to visualize structural and electronic changes in real time, offering insights into both fundamental physics and practical device operation. All seminars are held on Wednesdays from 12:30 -1:30p.m. in the Bowen Hall Auditorium Room 222. A light lunch is provided at 12:00p.m. in the Bowen Hall Atrium immediately prior to the seminar.