The Inner Universe of Quantum Materials - Premi Chandra, Rutgers University

Historically the study of physics in our local environment has led to an improved understanding of Nature well beyond our planetary bounds. As a physicist who has worked in academia and industry, in this talk I hope to convey my excitement for the study of quantum materials both for their application to the everyday and for their fundamental properties that may help us understand our greater Universe. The combination of quantum mechanics and complexity leads to the emergence of rich, exotic states of matter where the number of constituent electrons is comparable to the number of stars in our observable Universe. In this sense quantum materials can be viewed as tunable Universes where their behaviors under extreme conditions can be probed in the laboratory with far-reaching implications. After discussing some specific examples, I will end with our “Dark Matter” challenges and our many hopes for the future.