James Kakalios

Upon joining the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota in 1988,I have built up a research program in experimental condensed matter physics, with particular emphasis on complex and disordered systems. My current research ranges from the Nano to the Neuro, with active studies of the optical and electronic properties of hydrogenated amoprhous silicon thin films containing silicon nanocrystalline inclusions in addition to investigations of voltage fluctuations recorded from the brains of awake, behaving rats. the former project seeks to elucidate the properties of these mixed phase materials in order to optimize their characteristics for solar cell applications, while the neuroscience program has led to the identification of a coherent oscillation in the straitum which may have implications for our understanding of Parkinson's Disease.

In addition to my research efforts, I have developed a popular Freshman Seminar titled: Everything I Know About Physics I Learned By Reading Comic Books, which led to my writing a popular science book THE PHYSICS OF SUPERHEROES, published by Gotham Books.

The primary goal of my research is the elucidation of the properties of disordered systems. Experimental investigations include studies of the electronic and optical properties of amorphous semiconductors, segregation phenomena in granular media, and fluctuation phenomena in neurological systems.

Thin films of hydrogenated amorphous silicon containing crystalline silicon nanoparticles are synthesized using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Prof. Uwe Kortshagen in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Techniques developed to study non-Gaussian fluctuations in amorphous silicon have been applied to local field potentials recorded from awake, behaving rats in Prof. A. David Redish's laboratory in the Dept. of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota.