Materials Science Research Lecture
***Refreshments at 10:45am in Noyes lobby
Abstract:
Thermodynamics is often treated as the final authority in materials synthesis, defining which crystal structures and bonding configurations are accessible. In this talk, I will show how synthesis can instead become a process of negotiation – one that allows us to intentionally design both periodic and aperiodic lattices on demand. By exploiting the chemistry of source materials, my group has developed novel approaches to synthesize epitaxial oxide films, their membranes, and bicrystals with tailored bonding geometries, dislocation networks, and emergent electronic behavior that are difficult – or impossible – to access in substrate-clamped systems.
We combine advanced structural and spectroscopic characterization, including electron microscopy, scattering, and local probe measurements, to directly resolve atomic structure, interfacial order, and defect configurations across length scales. Finally, I will discuss how this work establishes a novel synthesis paradigm in which 3D architecture, spanning atomic to mesoscale lengths, becomes a central design variable – allowing materials structure and properties to be programmed well beyond equilibrium limits.
More about the Speaker:
Professor Bharat Jalan, Shell Chair and professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. Prof. Jalan is a expert in materials science, renowned for pioneering work in oxide thin films, membranes, and bicrystals. He has developed novel synthesis approaches enabling atomic-level growth of complex materials. Prof. Jalan also holds graduate faculty appointment in the Department of Physics, and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He also serves as a Deputy Editor of AAAS journal Science Advances.
He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Young Investigator MBE Award (2016), Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award (2016), Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Young Investigator (2017), American Association for Crystal Growth Young Author Award (2017), AVS Paul Holloway Young Investigator Award (2017), Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), AVS Peter Mark Memorial Award (2021), and recognition by the National Academy of Engineering as a highly accomplished early-career engineer (2022). He has also been honored with the international Schieber Prize (awarded to one worldwide every three years) by the International Organization of Crystal Growth (2023), AVS Fellow (2024), the VAIBHAV Fellowship by the Government of India (2024), and recently, as the JMR Distinguished Invited Speaker by the Materials Research Society at their 2024 spring meeting. Most recently, Jalan was presented with the University of Minnesota George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Research.
Jalan has (co)-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and given more than 100 invited talks and colloquiums.
Jalan received a BS dual degree in MSE from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in
India (2006) and a PhD degree in Materials Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara (2011). From 2011-2016, he was an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and was promoted to the associate professor in 2017, and to the rank of full professor in 2022.