Carlo U. Segre

Classes: Fall 2017

• PHYS 405 - Fundamentals of Quantum Theory I
  A review of modern physics including topics such as blackbody radiation, the photoelectric effect, the Compton effect, the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, the correspondence principle, and the DeBroglie hypothesis. Topics in one-dimensional quantum mechanics such as the particle in an infinite potential well, reflection and transmission from potential wells, barriers, and steps, the finite potential well and the quantum harmonic oscillator. General topics such as raising and lowering operators, Hermitian operators, commutator brackets and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle are also covered. Many particle systems and the Pauli Exclusion Principle are discussed. Three-dimensional quantum mechanical systems, orbital angular momentum, the hydrogen atom. The class meets Tuesday and Thursday 13:50-15:05 in room 212 Stuart Building. An Internet section is also available.

Questions and Answers about studying physics

Are you interested in studying physics or becoming a physicist? As an advisor to undergraduate and graduate physics students, I have heard and answered many questions over the years. You can ask your questions directly at AllExperts or read my posts on College Confidential as "xraymancs".

Topics might include:

• Can I get involved in research as an undergraduate?
• How do I choose a graduate program?
• I am interested in X, can I specialize as an undergraduate?

History of physics at Illinois Tech

Since 2009, I have been interested in the history of physics at Illinois Institute of Technology including its predecessors, Armour Institute of Technology and Lewis Institute. Through the work of my Introduction to the Profession class each year, we have been able to flesh out a timeline of physics faculty and we are building biographies of as many as possible. The results can be found in the Illinois Tech Physics Faculty Timeline.

Recent research presentations from my group

I attended XAFS15 in Beijing, China and presented the following research from my group at IIT.

• EXAFS Study of PtRu Core-Shell Nanoparticles as Electrocatalysts for DMFC's
• Iron Incorporation Into Ferroelectric Lead Titanate
• Lattice relaxation in Zn_1-xCd_xS binary alloy: An Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) Study

We recently were funded by the ARPA-e RANGE program to develop a battery based on nanoelectrofuels. Over the past three years, I have given several presentations on this project including ones at Villanova University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and previously at Illinois Tech.

I am a member of Benefunder and one of the participants in their Clean Energy Impact Fund. Benefunder works with donors and the nation's researchers across all fields of study, including healthcare and life sciences, advanced technologies, the environment, and the arts and humanities. It's goal is to allow donors and researchers to build meaningful relationships using the disciplines of wealth management in a way that facilitates long-term charitable funding for research and low overhead.

Our research was highlighted in the September 2013 issue of International Innovation - North America.

Biographical Information

I am a "midwesterner", having spent my early years in Lincoln, Nebraska; Madison, Wisconsin; and Urbana, Illinois. I received my B.S. in physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1976. I then entered my bi-coastal period, first obtaining a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, San Diego in 1981 Professors Bernd Matthias and M. Brian Maple and then spending two years as a post-doc with Prof. Mark Croft at Rutgers University in New Jersey. I have been on the IIT faculty since 1983 with a one-year sabbatical in Trieste, Italy at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. I have over 130 refereed publications. A full Curriculum Vitae is also available.

Education:
B.S. in Physics, 1976, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
B.S. in Chemistry, 1976, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
M.S. in Physics, 1977, University of California, San Diego
Ph.D. in Physics, 1981, University of California, San Diego

Professional Societies:
American Physical Society
American Chemical Society
Materials Research Society
The Electrochemical Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science (Fellow)
Sigma Xi (President of IIT Chapter 2005-2016; North Central Region Director 2016-2019)
International Centre for Diffraction Data (Fellow)

Research Interests:
My research centers around the structure and electronic properties of complex materials including superconducting, magnetic, catalytic, and energy storage materials.
Experimental techniques used in my research include; material synthesis through arc-melting, powder metallurgy, and advanced chemical methods; structural characterization of the samples performed by x-ray powder diffraction and xray absorption fine structure; and measurement of electronic properties by resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Specific topics of interest include:

• structural and electrochemical properties of advanced battery materials;
• in-situ structural studies of catalytic materials for use in fuel cells;
• structural and electronic properties of magnetoelectric materials and other perovskite materials prepared in the form of nanoparticles and thin films;
• local structural studies of structural materials for use in nuclear reactors, including in-situ corrosion studies and characterization of nano-crystalline inclusions in steels;
• development of x-ray optics for synchrotron radiation experimentation.

I also am an active participant in the IIT Center for Synchrotron Radiation Research and Instrumentation (CSRRI), serving as Center Director and Deputy Director of the Materials Research Collaborative Access Team (MRCAT) which operates an experimental facility for materials research at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). I have been involved in the development of crystal optic devices for delivery and detection of x-rays at synchrotron beamlines.

Finally, I am a Debian Developer. I package scientific data analysis software for the Debian GNU/Linux Project.

Last Update Apr. 17, 2016 by segre@iit.edu