2025: Year of Quantum
How physics at the smallest scales impacts materials, human health, computing, communications and more
“How chemistry and physics come together in quantum materials”
Presented by Lukas Muchler
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Physics
February 1, 2025
100 Thomas Building
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Quantum materials have long promised to revolutionize technology — yet given their innate complexity, the revolution is not guaranteed. Advancements in energy storage, quantum information science, and other quantum-based technologies are contingent on a new generation of materials and devices that do not yet exist.
The properties of quantum materials arise from the collective behavior of electrons and the interplay of fundamental quantum effects. Paramount to progress is an integrated understanding of the fundamental physics and chemistry underlying modern materials.
This talk will explore how integrating concepts from these fields addresses these challenges and will highlight recent breakthroughs in the field.
Lukas Muechler is an assistant professor of chemistry and physics at Penn State. He obtained his Ph.D. from Princeton University in chemistry. Before moving to Penn State, he was a Flatiron Research Fellow at the Center for Computational Quantum Physics of the Flatiron Institute in NYC. His research primarily addresses interdisciplinary challenges at the intersection of chemistry and physics, focusing on developing new theoretical tools and concepts for guiding materials discovery and design. A focus of his group is to utilize recent breakthroughs in topological condensed matter physics to analyze chemical reaction dynamics and the properties of quantum materials.