I am thrilled to announce that this August, our research group, the Films, Interfaces, and Nanostructures of Oxides (FINO) Lab, will be moving to the University of Delaware Department of Materials Science and Engineering! This is a really exciting move that will allow us to expand our research and work with a fantastic interdisciplinary team of researchers in electronic and quantum materials.
I owe a special thank you to my FINO Lab students and postdocs for your hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm in the lab. I have had a great team to work with throughout my time here and I look forward to continuing our work together at the University of Delaware. I think that we have worked out a way to make sure that every student is supported during the transition and their understanding during this process has been much appreciated.
I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to my colleagues and friends at Auburn for 8 wonderful years of collaboration, support, and friendship. I have made lifelong friends here in the Department of Physics, which has been incredibly collegial and seen fantastic growth in the past decade. Everyone has been very supportive throughout this process, for which I am immensely grateful.
Moving forward, I am particularly excited to contribute to the Materials Growth Facility (MGF, https://www.mgf.udel.edu/ ) at Delaware and to expand our research into the synthesis of chalcogenide thin films, while continuing our work on oxides. The capabilities in the MGF and expertise within MSE and the CHARM MRSEC ( https://mrsec.udel.edu/ ) at Delaware are a big part of what excited me about this new position. I’ll have more details on our lab plans as we bring everything online over the next year, but we will have a fantastic setup for synthesis and characterization of films and heterostructures of a wide range of materials.
Along those lines, since FINO Lab is expanding our capabilities, it seems appropriate to incorporate chalcogenides into the name. Oxygen is also a chalcogen, so I am proud to present the Films, Interfaces, and Nanostructures of Oxides and Chalcogenides, or FINCH Lab, along with our new mascot, who will get along nicely with the Delaware Blue Hen!
