Brian Donovan is a materials scientist that specializes in measuring heat flow in novel materials. We can gain insight into the nanoscale thermal dynamics of materials and structures by utilizing ultrafast lasers as heaters and thermometers. Understanding thermal transport on this fundamental level allows us to innovate in application spaces that include microelectronics, alternative energy, and directed energy weapons. The goal of Prof Donovan's lab is to design new characterization and thermal processing systems that allow for the next generation of physical understanding and control of thermal transport in Navy relevant applications. Student's in the lab start with developing a basic understanding of materials science, phonon thermal transport, lasers, and optics. By their final year, they go on to specialize on a specific project application and drive their own findings in independent research projects, often resulting in publishable work.

Joel Helton is a materials physicist, primarily interested in using neutron spectroscopy to study collective excitations in quantum magnets. Many crystalline solids feature localized or itinerant magnetic moments due to the intrinsic spin angular momentum of the electron. In frustrated spin systems the crystal geometry, disorder, or competing interactions prevent a simple magnetic order from satisfying all magnetic interactions. In such systems thermal and quantum fluctuation can lead to unique collective states of matter such as quantum spin liquids. I grow and characterize new materials at USNA and perform neutron scattering experiments at the NIST Center for Neutron Research.