NSF Awards $250K for Topological Materials SUPERSeed

The NSF recently awarded funding ($250K) for a new SUPERSeed, Topological Quantum Materials between Two and Three Dimensions. LRSM’s SUPERSeed will combine theory, computation and experiment on topics that lie at the intersection between materials science and topological physics: layered 2D materials, topological semimetals, and ferroelectric (FE) topological insulators. Senior investigators in the SUPERSeed are Charlie Kane, Gene Mele, and Charlie Johnson from the Department of Physics & Astronomy, Andrew Rappe from the Chemistry Department, and Ritesh Agarwal from Materials Science & Engineering; collaborators include Jessica Anna (Chemistry), I-Wei Chen and Peter K. Davies (both MSE), and Chris B. Murray (Chem/MSE). The research builds on the surprising interplay between symmetry and topology in materials electronic structure, motivated by seminal discoveries about topological insulators at Penn. The Penn collaboration was one of three SUPERSeeds selected for support by the NSF this summer, from a highly competitive group of 23 MRSEC proposals.