Melissa Eblen-Zayas

Associate Professor of Physics

Education:

B.A., magna cum laude (Physics), 1999
Smith College, Northampton, MA

Ph.D. in Physics, 2005
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Contact Information:

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Carleton College

One North College Street

Northfield, MN 55057

Office: Olin 325

Phone: (507) 222-7838 (office)

FAX: (507) 222-4384

E-Mail: meblenza@carleton.edu

TEACHING 2011-2012:

Fall
Lab for Physics 228 Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Winter
Physics 343 Electronics
Spring
Physics 354 Solid State Physics
Lab for Physics 235 Electricity and Magnetism

Previous courses taught:
Physics 100 Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Physics 131 Newtonian Mechanics
Physics 142 Matter and Interactions
Physics 228 Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Physics 235 Electricity and Magnetism
Physics 260 Materials Science

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

I am an experimental condensed matter physicist. My research interests lie in studying the electronic and magnetic properties of materials. While the electronic properties of many materials can be adequately described using a model where electrons behave as a weakly interacting gas of particles, there exists a class of materials, known as correlated electron materials, in which the electron interactions are strong and give rise to unusual physical properties. I am interested in how disorder and phase inhomogeneity impact the properties of these correlated electron materials. In particular, my doctoral research focused on studying the manganites, a correlated electron system which exhibits colossal magnetoresistive behavior. We grew ultrathin films of these materials in a field-effect geometry (the same geometry used for transistors in your computer) and then modulated the properties of these materials with an applied gate voltage.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Brief CV

I am dedicated to the diversification of the physics community by increasing the participation of women and underrepresented minorities. Some relevant readings, links, and resources can be found here.

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