TQM at the Microscale

TQM has a shiny new piece of equipment to help get us to the heart of quantum materials - a Broad Ion Beam Polisher, or BIB! ✨

This first video (in the comments) shows the control screen of the BIB polisher. Here we can set up the parameters of the cutting/polishing of crystals as samples. Then we see the whole device with a microscope for sample checking on top. Finally, we zoom in to the beam observation window where we see the beam (blue-purple) polishing the sample while the sample holder moves back and forth for an even polish.

The next video (also in the comments) shows the beam during a broad beam polishing. The sample is tilted and rotated, while the beam hits its entire surface, removing unevenness uniformly.

And the rest of the photos show the sample holder and a silicon sample in it, after about 30 minutes of polishing. The small darker dimple is the polished bit. The beam is quite narrow in this case. One of the photos is taken through the beam observation window while the beam was still on.

Special thanks to our Research Engineer Zoltán for the videos, images & text!

High field warriors! 💪

Amit, Muhammad, Vale, and Arkady tackled another high field experiment in Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA back in December at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory’s . They are exploring the magnetic properties of UTe2, an exotic superconductor, up to 65 tesla. Beautiful data coming soon!

We have a lot of exciting accomplishments to announce around the lab lately...and first up, we are thrilled that our & Kim Modic has been accepted into the prestigious Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Austrian Academy of Young Scientists! 🎓🌟

The Young Academy is committed to creating work and research conditions that make career paths possible at a very high international level. Moreover, it supports the advancement of women, gender mainstreaming and diversity management. Its strategic goals are the promotion of interdisciplinary research and the identification of innovative research fields.

Kimberly is excited to join a community dedicated to pushing boundaries, fostering innovation, and shaping the future, and is grateful for this opportunity and ready to embark on this inspiring journey!

photos © ÖAW/Daniel Hinterramskogler

We were so fortunate to have Prof. Brad Ramshaw from Cornell University visit at Institute of Science and Technology Austria - ISTA for several months during his sabbatical. 👨‍🔬

Brad helped develop the lab, including new experimental techniques, and he also helped in the development of all TQM members towards becoming careful experimentalists. It was a joy to learn from one of the best in the game!

We went on a TQM retreat to an island in Budapest where we focused on how to make paper-quality figures, and Brad enjoyed his role as Captain Critical in his assessment. In addition to training our minds, we trained our bodies each day — 10 pushups for every minute that you show up late to a meeting! 😉

Saying goodbye to a great friend and colleague was tough, but we know he’ll return to ISTA soon — in one form or another — and we look forward to continuing great science with Brad from a distance!

We recently had the honour to host Arkady Shekhter, a great friend from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory's Pulsed Field Facility in Los Alamos.

He gave a talk at our "Quantum Seminar” on Multi-Flavor Quantum Criticality - you can see the abstract at the end of the photo slides to learn more about this topic. We’re excited to continue collaborations with him on trying to understand frustrated magnetism in BaCo2(AsO4)2 and RuCl₃. 🧲

LAST CHANCE for the from Institute of Science and Technology Austria - ISTA, with most applications closing on October 25! 👩‍🔬🧑‍🔬

Our group, Thermodynamics of Quantum Materials at the Microscale, absolutely LOVES calling home - and now, ISTA is looking for outstanding group leaders in , , , , , , & to join our world-class institute.

Deadlines are October 25 (Tuesday!) for most positions, with a December 1 deadline for computer science openings.

To apply now for professor & assistant professor positions and see a list of what ISTA has to offer + the application requirements, visit this link: https://ista.ac.at/de/jobs/faculty/

Now's your chance: the at Institute of Science and Technology Austria - ISTA is now open!

Our group, Thermodynamics of Quantum Materials at the Microscale, absolutely LOVES calling ISTA home - and now, ISTA is looking for outstanding group leaders in , , , , , , & to join our world-class institute.

Deadlines are October 25 for most positions, with a December 1 deadline for computer science openings.

To apply now for professor & assistant professor positions and see a list of what ISTA has to offer + the application requirements, visit this link: https://ista.ac.at/de/jobs/faculty/

At the beginning of August, TQM went on a retreat to the gorgeous, gothic city of Budapest, Hungary to celebrate their successes and get to know one another better. We had writing and figure making competitions, went on a boat tour of Budapest, got our sweat on with a workout together one morning, and did a team building exercise (building the tallest tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows) - and everyone did push-ups if they showed up late to a meeting! 🏰

We all loved the whimsical world of the glittery, pink-filled Barbie movie, but even better is the commentary by Natasha Holmes for Inside Higher Ed about the lack of feminine-looking physicists, even in Barbieland.

Here is an excerpt from the article by Holmes, a Ph.D. physicist and the Ann S. Bowers Associate Professor of Physics at Cornell University:

"How is it that, even in the matriarchal and feminist utopia that is Barbieland, the stereotype of antifeminine physicist identity cannot be rejected? In Barbieland, we see women in all roles and positions of power embracing their femininity. But not the physicist, who wants to wear pants. If 'femininity' and 'physicist' cannot coexist even in Barbieland, how are we ever to support its coexistence in the real world?

For the record, I attended Barbie with another woman Ph.D. physicist and professor, Kimberly Putkonen. We both wore pink dresses." 💗🎀

You can read the full article here: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2023/08/22/why-does-physicist-barbie-want-wear-pants-opinion

In June, Institute of Science and Technology Austria - ISTA hosted its annual Open Campus Day, a big science party for the whole family, where over 2,000 visitors attended. TQM had a lot of fun preparing and enjoyed giving lab tours, short talks and showing members of the public experiments around our facility.

We love this yearly opportunity to introduce people to our magnets and high magnetic field science — be sure to check out ISTA's recap of the event here: https://ist.ac.at/en/news/open-campus-2023-recap/ ⚛️✨

TQM attended the Mathematical and Physical Sciences retreat in a cool little town called Rust on the Neusiedler See. Short presentations across a wide range of topics gave some insight into the diverse physical curiosities being explored at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria - ISTA.

Afterwards, a wine tour or boat trip was attended by everyone! 🍷🏅

TQM tried their luck & recently headed to Las Vegas, Nevada USA for the 2023 APS Physics 🎲⚛️ TQM group members presented the following talks:

On March 6
Dynamic magnetotropic coefficient measurements in UTe₂ - Amit Nathwani
Characterising the magnetic anisotropy of UTe₂ - Valeska Zambra

On March 7
Anisotropic magnetic response of BaCo₂(AsO₄)₂ - Shiva Safari
Magnetic anisotropy in 1T-TaS₂ - Muhammad Nauman

The week was full of wild sights, walking around the strip, and getting used to flashy Vegas & physics talks going on at the same time! Gambling paid off - our group leader Kim Modic left Vegas up $150, and we enjoyed a group dinner at LAVO at The Venetian with Maja Bachmann and Veronika Sunko from Stanford University, and Brad Ramshaw’s group from Cornell University. 🎰⚛️