Rachel Wortis at Trent University

Rachel Wortis
email:	rwortis@trentu.ca
phone:	(705) 748-1011 x7714
fax:	(705) 748-1652
office:	SC326
address:	Department of Physics Trent University 1600 West Bank Drive Peterborough, Ontario Canada, K9J 7B8

Trent University Department of Physics

Condensed Matter Theory Group

Biography:

1985-1989	A.B. in physics from Harvard University
1989-1990	ESL teacher at Chinese Academy of Sciences
1990-1998	Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1998-2000	Postdoctoral research at McMaster University
2000-2002	Postdoctoral research at l'Université de Sherbrooke
2002-2008	Assistant professor of physics at Trent University
2008-	Associate professor of physics at Trent University

Links to journals:

Links to professional organizations:

Research interests

Condensed matter physics is the study of materials and patterns which can be constructed from atoms and molecules, seeking simple ways to express the origins of the diversity of physical properties which emerge from the essential ingredients of electrons, nuclei, and electromagnetic forces. My research program focuses on understanding electronic properties, which are of tremendous technological importance and present fascinating conceptual puzzles.

Much of our current ability to describe the materials we use, such as metals, semiconductors, insulators and superconductors, arises from the fact that in some cases a single type of energy dominates the electronic behavior. However, this is not always the case, and in fact systems in which a delicate balance is achieved between competing interactions are often the most important for applications while also being the most challenging to understand.

Two topics of current interest to me are high-temperature superconductors, in particular refining the capacity of nuclear magnetic resonance measurements to distinguish between competing theories, and metal-insulator transitions driven by a combination of disorder and electron-electron interactions.

Publications:

Student opportunities

Dear Prospective Student,

Thank you for your interest!

Undergraduates

I hope to supervise one or two undergraduate students in summer research projects. If you are interested, please contact me (rwortis@trentu.ca).

Graduate students

I am actively seeking graduate students. If you are interested in graduate study in physics, please see our information for prospective graduate students, and please feel free to contact me (rwortis@trentu.ca) with questions.

Sincerely,

Rachel Wortis

rwortis@trentu.ca