John Heron, Assistant Professor
Contact Phone: 734-763-6914
Address:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Room 2030 H.H. Dow
2300 Hayward St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Email: jtheron@umich.edu
Biography
John studied Physics as an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As a graduate student he was awarded the NDSEG graduate fellowship and worked in the thin film complex oxide group of Professor Ramamoorthy Ramesh at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2013 John was awarded Ross N. Tucker Memorial Award. After earning his masters (2011) and doctoral (2013) degrees from the University of California Berkeley he began postdoctoral research at Cornell University under the co-mentorship of Professors Darrell Schlom and Dan Ralph.
John joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering as an Assistant Professor in Winter 2016.
Graduate Researchers
Peter Meisenheimer
meisep@umich.edu
Peter graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering, as well as minors in Chemistry and Applied Math, from the University of Washington in 2016. Beginning, in 2014, Peter spent two years working with Prof. Peter Pauzauskie on a number of research projects, including solid state cooling, thermal and optical modeling, and novel nanoparticle synthesis. In 2015, Peter participated in a NSF funded REU at the University of California, Merced where he worked with Prof. Michael Scheibner on measuring strain effects in solid state quantum dots. Peter enjoys heavy metal, skiing and hiking, science fiction novels, and board games.
Publications:
M. Crane, B. Smith, P. Meisenheimer, X. Zhou, E. Davis, P. Pauzauskie. ‘Laser-directed spatial control of high-pressure, high-temperature nanocrystalline diamond formation’. Submitted 2016.
Nguyen Vu
nguyenvu@umich.edu
Education: Bachelor degree in Physics and education, Hanoi National University of Education, Vietnam
Research interest: I joined UM as graduate student in 2015. My research currently involves the growth and characterizaiton of high spin orbit oxide thin films and its potential in magnetic memory devices.
Steve Novakov
steveeee@umich.edu
Steve earned a BASc in Engineering Physics with a specialization in ECE and a minor in Commerce at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, in 2015. After gaining experience in the private sector developing electro-optic payloads for aircraft and a summer research term in an AMO laboratory, Steve came to UM to pursue research in solid state materials and devices, and will be investigating charge and spin transport properties of magnetic thin films in isolation and in heterostructures.
As with most graduate students, Steve earnestly enjoys experimenting with irregular sleep patterns and an assortment of nootropics, particularly caffeine. When he isn’t busy ablating assorted materials, Steve enjoys reading, programming and multifarious athletics.
Undergraduate Researchers
Betsy Zwier
Sai Sivakumar
Sai is a senior studying Materials Sciences and Engineering and minoring in Physics. Currently, she works with the synthesis and characterization of high entropy oxides. Previously, she worked with Professor Charles McCrory on the synthesis and characterization of various mixed metal oxides. In her free time she enjoys cooking, running, and long walks to the Dude.
Brandi Wooten
Brandi is a rising senior at Cal Poly Pomona studying physics with an emphasis in optics. At her home campus, she conducts research on biconically tapered optical fibers used in biological sensing applications. She is at the University of Michigan this summer to participate in a NSF funded REU hosted by the Center of Photonics and Multiscale Nanomaterials. Here in the Ferroelectronics Lab, she is investigating the spintronic properties of chalcogenide thin films. While not doing research, Brandi enjoys exploring Ann Arbor, reading in the park or eating great food.