My research interest is in the areas of experimental condensed matter physics and materials science. One area of my research focuses on materials for spintronic applications including magnetic semiconductors and half-metals. Our research group investigates the magnetic and electronic transport properties of nanostructured oxides and thin films. Various thin film preparation techniques are used in the labs, including pulsed laser deposition and magnetron sputtering. A second area of our current research interest is novel thermoelectric materials that can be used for energy conversion, for example, generating electricity from car exhaust and industrial waste heat. We investigate the electronic and phonon transport in both nanostructured bulk and thin films. We are also working on novel nanostructured photovoltaic materials and energy efficient photoluminescent materials for solar cell and general lighting applications. Other research activities include x-ray studies of electronic, magnetic and crystalline structures of nanomaterials; spin-dependent transport; tunneling magnetoresistance and giant magnetoresistance; dielectrics, magnetic oxides and nanoparticles; highly correlated electron systems; electronic, magnetic, optical properties of transition metal/rare earth compounds/alloys
