Quantum

Jainendra K. Jain, Evan Pugh University Professor and Erwin W. Müller Professor of Physics and holder of the Eberly Family Chair in the Penn State Eberly College of Science, has been awarded, along with two others, the 2025 Wolf Prize in Physics for “groundbreaking contributions to quantum matter and its topological potential” that revolutionized “our understanding of two-dimensional electron systems in strong magnetic fields.”

Read more about Jainendra Jain named 2025 Wolf Prize laureate in physics

By Ashley WennersHerron

An old physical phenomenon, known as the Hall effect, has revealed some new tricks, according to a team co-led by researchers at Penn State and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They reported their findings, which they said have potential implications for understanding fundamental physics of quantum materials and developing applied technologies such as quantum communication and harvesting energy via radio frequencies, this week (Oct. 21) in Nature Materials.

Read more about Room temperature electrical control could heat up future technology development

For the first time, researchers demonstrate how to electronically alter the direction of electron flow in promising materials for quantum computing

By Gail McCormick

Read more about Electrical control of quantum phenomenon could improve future electronic devices

In some ways, Mauricio Terrones is a gardener. An Evan Pugh University Professor and The Penn State Verne M. Willaman Professor of Physics, Terrones does not grow flowers or vegetables, but instead, one- or few-atom-thick two-dimensional (2D) materials. Specifically, creating materials with specific properties. The first 2D material ever created was graphene, and Terrones was a pioneer in developing 2D materials beyond graphene such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and Tungsten disulfide (WS2). These are layered 2D materials, monolayered, bi-layered, tri-layered or more.