Oxford Instruments is delighted to announce the winner of the 2015 Lee Osheroff Richardson Science Prize for North America as Dr. Cory R. Dean, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics of Columbia University, New York, USA.
Dr. Dean is recognized for his definitive measurement of the Hofstadter butterfly. Douglas Hofstadter first predicted in 1976 that a butterfly-shaped fractal energy spectrum emerges when 2D electrons are subjected simultaneously to both a spatially periodic electric potential and a transverse magnetic field.
By combining novel techniques in nanoscale fabrication of graphene-based devices with ultra high magnetic fields, Dr. Dean's research provides the first experimental verification of this nearly 40 year old problem.
It truly is an honour to be the recipient of this award, though to be sure the honour is equally due to the many wonderful colleagues I have had in these past years
Dr. Cory R. Dean
Dr. Cory Dean is an outstanding physicist who did his postdoctoral research from Columbia University, New York, NY, between 2009 and 2013. His research was focused on both fundamental studies, and technological applications of solid state devices at the meso- and nano-scale.
General areas of study include electron transport in degenerate many body systems where strong interactions lead to new states of matter and novel electronic behaviour resulting from new device architectures.
Systems that are covered include layered materials such as graphene and related hetero-structures, transition metal dichalcogenides, and topological insulators as well as more conventional 2D electron systems such as III-V semiconductors.
These systems are probed by combining transport studies with a variety of experimental “knobs” such as applied magnetic and electrostatic fields, variable temperatures from ambient down to milliKelvin, high vacuum, spatial confinement down to the nano-scale, variable charge carrier densities, and unconventional NMR techniques.
Dr. Dean gained a PhD in Physics from McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada in 2009. Prior to that, he completed an MSc in 2004 and BSc Honours in 2001 in Physics from Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, after graduating in Mathematics in 2000. Throughout his professional career, he has received numerous awards and recognitions.
Dr. Dean will be presented with the Prize at the Oxford Instruments “Socialize with Science” event at the 2015 APS March Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, USA on March 3rd, 2015.
The Lee Osheroff Richardson Science Prize selection committee was very pleased to recognize the wide ranging and comprehensive nature of the studies led by Dr. Dean. The committee consists of leading North American physicists and is chaired by Professor Bruce Gaulin of Mc Master University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the objective of the Lee Osheroff Richardson Science Prize is to promote and recognise the novel work of young scientists working in the fields of low temperatures and/or high magnetic fields or surface science in North America. Oxford Instruments is aware that there is a critical and often difficult stage for many between completing a PhD and gaining a permanent research position.
The company has therefore been helping individuals who are producing innovative work by offering assistance both financially and through promotion of their research work, through sponsoring the Lee Osheroff Richardson Science Prize for North America for research in physical science. The Prize is named in honour of Professors David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff and the late Robert C. Richardson, joint recipients of The Nobel Prize in Physics 1996 "for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3".
The previous winners of the Lee Osheroff Richardson Science Prize are Dr Christian Lupien, Dr Jason Petta, Dr Suchitra Sebastian, Dr Eunseong Kim, Dr Vivien Zapf, Dr Jing Xia, Dr Kenneth Burch, Dr Lu Li, and Dr Chiara Tarantini.
More information on the Prize can be found at: www.oxford-instruments.com/scienceprize