Natasha Headland

Welcome to the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science (MCCS) Early-Career Spotlight, a monthly feature showcasing the National Laboratory of the Rockies' (NLR’s) early-career researchers' interests, motivations, and achievements. This month features Melissa Kreider, who has been a materials scientist at NLR since 2022.

Study Reveals Hybrid Plasmon-Polariton Resilience in Strongly Correlated Systems Electronics often use a subclass of materials called correlated materials because they exhibit unique electronic and magnetic properties. In these types of materials, the electrons interact with each other so intensely that their behavior is not describable by simple models, because the usual models of electrons acting like individual particles do not apply cleanly.

Study Reveals the Potential of Magnon ‘Currents’ for Cutting-Edge Technologies A new study demonstrates how magnons, a type of wave found in magnetic systems, can manipulate interactions between excitons—uncharged “quasiparticles” that carry energy. This discovery provides insights for tuning exciton behavior in quantum technologies, opening the door to cutting-edge applications.