From GaoLab

Welcome to Xuan Gao's Group Website

Welcome to the homepage of Professor Xuan Gao's research group at the Physics Department of Case Western Reserve University. We are a group of experimental physicists studying a wide range of interesting subjects in the fast-growing field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Our research is centered on semiconductor nanostructures (quantum wells and nanowire materials) in which the quantum nature of particles (electrons, phonons etc) plays a fundamental role in their electrical, thermal, and magnetic properties. We seek to understand and exploit the quantum physics in these nanostructures for novel device applications.

Our current research interests include:

1. Quantum transport of strongly correlated electrons in semiconductor
   nanostructures, including quasi-one-dimensional nanowires and
   two-dimensional quantum wells.
   
2. Spin transport and spin-orbit coupling in III-V and topological insulator nanowires for spintronic device applications.
3. Nanowire materials for efficient thermoelectric energy conversion.
   
4. Nanoelectronics for chemical and bio-molecule sensing.
   

Please visit our research projects webpage for more details.

What's New

• 4/2013 Prof. Gao gave seminars on InAs nanowire and topological insulator nanomaterials at Carnegie Mellon Univ and Indiana Univ.
  
• Graduate student Richard travels to National High Magnetic Field Lab in Florida to do ultra-low temperature experiment on correlated 2D holes.
  
• 3/2013 Prof. Gao and graduate student Richard (Lei) attend the annual March meeting of the American Physical Society at Baltimore, MD. At the meeting, Prof. Gao received the Outstanding Young Researcher Award from the International Organization of Chinese Physicists and Astronomers at the reception of the Forum on International Physics (FIP). See details here.
  
• 2/2013 Prof. Gao gave a seminar on spin orbit interaction and 1D thermoelectric transport in InAs nanowires at Michigan State Univ.
  
• 1/2013 Our group receives a grant through Air Force Office of Scientific Research's Basic Research Initiatives, together with a team of researchers from CWRU, Univ. of Michigan and Ecole de Mines, Paris. The grant will support us to investigate quasi-2D electron gas at oxide hetero-interface for electronics at extreme conditions. Read more here.
  
• 10/2012 Prof. Gao was at Wayne State University, giving a Physics colloquium.
  
• 9/2012 We welcome Ms. YanYuan Zhao, a visiting student from Prof. Qihua Xiong's lab at Nanyang Technology University. YanYuan will be working on a collaborative project on ultra-thin topological insulator nanoplates. We also welcome two CWRU undergraduates: Jacob Marx and Jake Arwe joining our lab to do their senior project research.
  
• 8/2012 Andrew Richenderfer won 2nd prize in the Kelly Scientific sponsored Future Scientist Scholarship contest. Congratulations!
  
• 7/2012 Prof. Gao visits Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Taiwan University and the Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
• 7/2012 Prof. Gao wins the 2012 Outstanding Young Researcher Award (Macronix Prize) from the International Organization of Chinese Physicists and Astronomers, a prestigious recognition given to a young physicist/astronomer of Chinese ethnicity working in North America, Europe, or any other region outside Asia.
  
• 6/2012 Prof. Gao gave invited talks on strongly correlated 2D holes at the Gordon Research Conference and the International Conference on Graphene and its applications.
  
• 6/2012 Researchers Love Triangles-read the press release at R&D Magazine, Physics News and more on our recent Nano Letters paper of using shaped nanoparticle catalyst to control the growth of nanowire.
  
• 4/2012 Prof. Gao gave an invited talk on electron transport in topological insulator nanowires at the Villa Conference on Energy Materials Nanotechnology Meeting.
  
• 3/2012 Richard and Prof. Gao attended the March meeting of APS in Boston and gave two talks.
  
• 1/25/2012 Richard's paper on connecting the quantum Hall to insulator transition and the zero field 2D metal-insulator transition was accepted by Physical Review Letters. Congratulations to Richard for getting his first PRL!
  
• 1/24/2012 Prof. Gao receives a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. Congratulations!
  
• 1/9/2012 Dong passes Ph.D. defense successfully and will join Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison as a postdoc. Congratulations! See photos in the news page here.
  

Positions Available

Motivated students are encouraged to contact Prof. Gao (xuan.gao @case.edu) if you are interested in our research.