Welcome to Shpyrko Group at UCSD!

Shpyrko Group, August 2011

Past group photos

We are experimental condensed matter physics group in the Department of Physics at the University of California, San Diego. Our group studies nanoscale dynamics and structure of materials - splitting our interest between "soft matter" and electronic/magnetic materials.

We are particularly interested in developing novel coherent x-ray scattering techniques to probe dynamics in variety of condensed matter systems, ranging from electronic and magnetic phases (charge-, spin-, orbital ordered systems, magnetic thin films and nanostructures, metal-insulator transitions and new high-temperature superconductors) to soft matter including fluids, colloids, nanoparticles, polymers and glasses as well as behavior of materials in nanoscale confinement.

Our in-house experimental capabilities include Dynamic Light Scattering and Light Microscopy laboratories, Atomic Force (AFM) and Electrostatic Force (EFM) Miroscopes, Microfocus X-ray Rotating Anode system, He flow cryostat for microscopy, Sputtering Deposition System (co-owned with Prof. Eric Fullerton). We also use a number of National Laboratory User Facilities, including Advanced Photon Source and Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Lab, Advanced Light Source at Berkeley Lab, Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge, as well as plans to use Linac Coherent Light Source at Stanford, National Synchrotron Light Source-II at Brookhaven and other facilities in US and Europe.

Our group's research is generously supported by Department of Energy (Basic Energy Sciences), National Science Foundation (CAREER), Air Fource Office of Scientific Research, Argonne LDRD and Hellman Foundation.

News Updates:

  • "Dichroic Coherent Diffractive Imaging" is published in PNAS! (Aug. 2011)
  • Graduate Students Alisa Agafonova, Jacob Stanley; Undergraduates Brandon Stevenson and Gurleen Bal join the group (June 2011)
  • Sam Stanwyck receives Malmberg Prize. Charles Neil Receives Ma Award. Veronica Burnett is AIP Intern of the Year. (May 2011)
  • Nanodiffraction of Metal-Insultor Transition is published in PRB (Apr. 2011)
  • Bending rigidity of AuSi monolayer is published in PRL. Postdoc Edwin Fohtung joins the group (Oct. 2010)
  • Undergrads Sam Stanwyck, Charles Neill and Andrew McLeud are among five physics recepients 2010 Dean's Excellence Award! Congrats! (Oct. 2010)
  • Group Barbeque at Oleg's House (Oct. 2010)
  • Sebastian Dietze attends MML-2010 in Berkeley.
  • Yeling wins SXNS-11 best poster award (July 2010)
  • Leandra Boucheron joins the group (June 2010)
  • Ash attends Coherence-2010 in Germany (June 2010)
  • Sam Stanwyck awarded SULI at Berkeley Lab (May 2010)
  • Mike Folkerts selected as McNair Scholar (Apr. 2010)
  • Oleg receives NSF CAREER award (Mar. 2010)
  • Moses Marsh and Jong Woo Kim join the group (Feb. 2010)
  • Michael Folkerts receives Dean's Excellence Award (Oct. 2009)
  • Oleg is named Hellman Fellow (May 2009)
  • Published: Nanoimaging of Metal-Insulator Transition in VO2, and Liquid Surface Structure of Bi and Sn (March 2009)
  • Oleg receives Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award (May 2008)

We are looking to hire at postdoctoral, graduate student and undergraduate levels

Examples of available Research Projects:

  • Nanoscale Dynamics using X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy
  • Coherent X-ray Microscopy
  • Behavior of Nanoconfined liquids
  • Atomic Structure of Liquid-Solid and Liquid-Vapor Interfaces
  • Emergent behavior, pattern formation and mesoscale phase separation in electronic and magnetic materials

Future is bright: These new research directions are especially exciting in view of recent developments in coherent fourth generation synchrotron sources, such as X-ray Free Electron Lasers and Energy Recovery Linacs.

Recent/Selected Publications:

O. G. Shpyrko et al., "Direct measurement of antiferromagnetic domain fluctuations"
Nature 447, 68 (2007)

R. Jaramillo et al., "Microscopic and Macroscopic Signatures of Antiferromagnetic Domains"
Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 117206 (2007)

O. G. Shpyrko et al., "Surface Crystallization in a Liquid AuSi Alloy"
Science 313, 77 (2006)

K. J. Alvine et al., "Capillary filling of anodized alumina nanopore arrays"
Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 175503 (2006)

O. G. Shpyrko et al., "Atomic-Scale Surface Demixing in a Eutectic Liquid BiSn Alloy"
Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 106103 (2005)

You are welcome to read more about our research directions and facilities we use, browse our publication list, check out our research in the news, as well as our group portal and contact info.

We also host a virtual blog-like journal club which regularly surveys recent literature in the topics we are interested in.

x-ray speckle reveals nanoscale spin dynamics
X-ray Speckle reveals nanoscale spin dynamics