Liang Wu

Assistant Professor (Starting July 2018)
Concentration: 
Condensed Matter Experiment
liangwu@sas.upenn.edu
Website
  • Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania (Beginning July 1, 2018)                                      
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (Jan. 2016 - Jun. 2018)

Honors & Awards:

  • Forbes 30 under 30 in Science (2018)
  • Michelson Postdoctoral Prize Lectureship (2017)
  • Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter or Materials Physics,  American Physical Society (2017)
  • Chinese Government Award For Outstanding Self-Financed Students Aboard (2016)
  • Pacemaker for Outstanding Students, Nanjing University (2009)
  • National Scholarship (2008)
Education: 

Ph.D. Physics, Johns Hopkins University (2015)

M.A. Physics, Johns Hopkins University (2012)

B.S. Physics, Nanjing University (2010)

Research Interests: 

I am an experimental condensed matter physicist with a strong interest in light-matter interactions.  I develop and utilize time-resolved and nonlinear optical techniques in both the terahertz (THz) and optical frequency regimes to study and control properties of materials broadly known as ''quantum materials.’’ In this class of matter, collective phases and properties defy a classical description, often leading to an exotically rich range of emergent phenomena.  My research interests include but are not limited to, topological insulators and semimetals, quantum antiferromagnets, spin liquids, superconductors, 2D materials, and plasmonics.

Selected Publications: 
  • T. Higo, H. Man, D. B. Gopman, Liang Wu, Y. P. Kabanov, O. M. J. van’t Erve, D. Rees, Y. F. Li, S. Patankar, M. Ikhlas, C. L. Chien, R. D. Shull, J. Orenstein, and S. Nakatsuji. Large magneto-optical Kerr effect and imaging of magnetic octupole domains in an antiferromagnetic metal. Nature Photonics. Accepted (2017)
  • A. Little†, Liang Wu†,∗,P. Kelley, A. Banerjee, D. Mandrus, S. Nagler and J. Orenstein. Antiferromagnetic resonance and terahertz continuum in α−RuCl3. Phys. Rev. Lett.  119, 227201 (2017)
  • Liang Wu, S. Patankar, T. Morimoto, N. L. Nair, E. Thewalt, A. Little, J. Analytis, J. E. Moore and J. W. Orenstein. Giant anisotropic nonlinear optical response in transition metal monopnictide Weyl semimetals. Nature Physics 13, 350-355 (2017)
  • Liang Wu, M. Salehi, N. Koirala, J. Moon, S. Oh and N. P. Armitage. Quantized Faraday and Kerr rotation and axion electrodynamics of a 3D topological insulator. Science 354, 1124-1127 (2016)
  • Liang Wu, R. H. Ireland, M. Salehi, B. Cheng, N. Koirala, S. Oh, H. E. Katz, and N. P. Armitage. Tuning and Stabilizing Topological Insulator Bi2Se3 in the Intrinsic Regime by Charge Extraction with Organic Overlayers. Appl. Phys. Lett. 108, 221603 (2016) 
  • A. Akrap, M. Hakl, S. Tchoumakov, I. Crassee, J. Kuba, M. O. Goerbig, C. C. Homes, O. Caha, J. Novak, F. Teppe, Liang Wu, N. P. Armitage, E. Arushanov, Q. D. Gibson, R. J. Cava, D. van der Marel, C. Faugeras, G. Martinez, M. Potemski, and M. Orlita. Magneto-optical signature of massless Kane electrons in Cd3As2. Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 136401 (2016)
  • Liang Wu, W. K. Tse, M. Brahlek, C. M. Morris, R. Valdes Aguilar, N. Koirala, S. Oh and N. P. Armitage. High-resolution Faraday rotation and electron-phonon coupling in surface states of the bulk-insulating topological insulator Cu0.02Bi2Se3. Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 217602 (2015)
  • N. Koirala, M. Brahlek, M. Salehi, Liang Wu, J. Dai, J. Waugh, T. Nummy, M. G. Han, Y. Zhu, D. Dasseu, W. D. Wu, N. P. Armitage and S. Oh. Record high mobility topological insulator thin films and dissipation-less quantum Hall effect via temporal interface engineering. Nano Letters 15, 8245-8249 (2015)
  • Liang Wu, M. Brahlek, R. Valdes Aguilar, A. V. Stier, C. M. Morris, Y. Lubashevsky, L. S. Bilbro, N. Bansal, S. Oh, N. P. Armitage. A sudden collapse in transport lifetime through the topological phase transition in (Bi1−xInx)2Se3. Nature Physics 9, 410-414 (2013)
  • J. R. Neilson, A. Llobet, A. V. Stier, Liang Wu, J. J. Wen, J. Tao, Y. M. Zhu, Z. B. Tesanovic, N. P. Armitage, T. M. McQueen. Mixed-Valence-Driven Heavy-Fermion Behavior and Superconductivity in KNi2Se2. Phys. Rev. B. 86, 054512 (2012)
  • R. Valdes Aguilar, A. V. Stier, W. Liu, L. S. Bilbro, D. K. George, N. Bansal, Liang Wu, J. Cerne, A. G. Markelz, S. Oh, N. P. Armitage. Terahertz Response and Colossal Kerr Rotation from the Surface States of the Topological Insulator Bi2Se3. Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 087403 (2012)
CV (file): 
application/pdf iconProfessor Wu CV 2017.pdf