EPSCoR Research Fellows: NSF: Developing Laser-Integrated Multimodal Instrumentation and Advancing Light Manipulation of Quantum Materials

This Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) EPSCoR Research Fellows project provides a fellowship to an Assistant Professor and training for a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa. This work will be conducted in collaboration with Drs. Jerzy T. Sadowski and Abdullah Al-Mahboob at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Through the fellowship, the PI will develop a laser-integrated multimodal photoelectron spectro-microscopy for investigating laser excitation and manipulation of quantum materials. The project will advance the frontier of materials science and condensed matter physics by imaging laser-induced metastable electronic states beyond the reach of conventional techniques and revealing complex interactions between multiple degrees of freedom in quantum materials. Beyond the proposed research, the fellowship will establish a new partner-level collaboration between the University of Alabama and Brookhaven National Laboratory, expanding Alabama's research infrastructure, national visibility, and sustained access to world-class synchrotron user facilities. This project will address a fundamental frontier in quantum materials: understanding and controlling light-induced metastable states created by single-shot ultrafast laser excitation. These non-equilibrium states provide a pathway to optically switchable functionalities for future electronics, information storage, and quantum technologies. The project is innovative in integrating a single-shot ultrafast laser with synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectro-microscopies, enabling one-of-a-kind spatially resolved, multimodal characterization of coupled electronic, lattice, spin, and chemical dynamics. Integrating the ultrafast laser system will establish a unique shared research capability for time-resolved and photon-energy-tunable studies, significantly expanding institutional infrastructure in ultrafast spectroscopy and non-equilibrium physics. The project will provide immersive training for the PI and a postdoctoral researcher through national laboratory residencies and hands-on instrument development. The resulting capability will be accessible to the broader user community, enabling new opportunities in advancing light-induced phenomena and optical control of quantum materials. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Research Fellows (ERF), which supports early- and mid-career investigators in eligible jurisdictions to develop collaborations at the nation’s private, government or academic research institutions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.