News: 2025

Postdocs from multiple labs joined in the Spring JFI postdoc happy hour! Look out for another happy hour coming in the Fall.

Sid Nagel was interviewed by Quanta Magazine on the physics of "ordinary" phenomena.

JFI Travel Award enables trainees to attend and present their research at a scientific conference between 2/1/2025-1/31/2026.  The award will be for $600 towards reimbursement of travel expenses (hotel & transportation).  Applications for the forthcoming year will be considered starting 6/1.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria: (1) Be a graduate student or post-doctoral trainee in the James Franck Institute at the time of application and travel. (2) Priority will be given to those who have not previously received an award. (3) Personal Statement, Budget and Note from Advisor will be the primary means of selection. (4) Consideration will be made to distribute awards equitably across JFI groups. No more than two applications per group per.

Margaret Gardel & Peter Littlewood have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences

The Littlewood group introduced a general classical linear field theory for non-reciprocal interactions. Their article in Physical Review E demonstrates how non-reciprocity can, surprisingly, enhance stability, while instabilities occur at Critical Exceptional Points.

The Guyot-Sionnest group designed highly sensitive quantum dot photoconductors with optical enhancement. Their publication in ACS Nano discusses how they used a HgTe quantum dot film to create photoconductors with a ~20-fold improvement in long-wave infrared detectivity.

Vincenzo Vitelli was named a CNRS Fellow-Ambassador, which invites leading researchers to visit and mentor with French laboratories.

The Tian group introduced a hydrogel derived from the malva nut with multiple biomedical applications, from wound care to ECG readings. Their publication in Matter discusses the sustainable extraction process used isolate the nut’s polysaccharides and demonstrates its enhanced performance in biosignal recording and tissue regeneration.

The Vitelli Group designed a compound robot which use principles of odd elasticity and active materials to enable decentralized locomotion across challenging terrains. Their paper in Nature explains how each part exerts nonsymmetric and nonreciprocal forces to create a robust collective machine that senses and responds to its environment.
 

The Delacrétaz group asks, is there a quantum limit to how fast many-body systems can equilibrate? Their publication in Nature Physics shows that large hydrodynamic fluctuations prevent a wide class of systems from regaining thermal equilibrium faster than the "Planckian time scale", set by Planck's constant and the equilibrium temperature.

The Talapin group designed a method of directly synthesizing various III-V quantum dots using a molten inorganic salt environment. Their paper in JACS demonstrates how this thermally-stable, oxygen-free environment enables the formation of highly crystalline InGaP and GaP nanocrystals.

The Murugan group discovered that physical systems can efficiently perform complex computations with contrastive learning. Their paper in Nature Communications shows how simple systems can use integral feedback to solve problems without digital hardware.