When they arrived at Clemson University to frequent higher education and conduct laboratory research from the assistant chemistry professor Thao Tran Dominy, the history of Xudong Huai and Abube Oyeka could not have been more different.
Oyeka already held two masters in chemistry and had a vast research experience. Huai had just finished his baccalaureate in chemistry and had led, in his words, “experiences, no research”.
Together in Clemson, they worked on research that could lead to new materials advanced for quantum information sciences.
Their research was selected for inclusion in the special collection: emerging leaders in materials science in the Revue Applied Physics Letters (APL) Materials. The special collection highlights revolutionary research in materials science.
Silicon, one of the most abundant elements of the earth, is widely used in electronics, transport and medical devices. But just like the materials of previous ages, there is a limit to the amount of information that it can store and at the speed at which it can be calculated. This is why researchers are looking for different ways to store and transmit information.
Unlike conventional computers that store information in binary form, quantum computers store information in several forms called qubits and can explore several ways of solution simultaneously. However, the qubits are fragile and their state is sensitive to disturbances.
Using chemical attributes of precision, anerabiably and reproducibility, the Tran Dominy laboratory strives to create new materials that can potentially keep quantum effects on a protected macroscopic scale against disturbances.
In this work, Huai and Oyeka discovered that by carefully positioning the spins in a polar network, new paths could be opened to modify the complex interaction between the degrees of spin, orbital and network of freedom through chemical bonds. They used iron in research, but the results are translated to other metals, Huai said. They worked with collaborators from Poland and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on the project.
“The two are very brilliant scientists,” said Tran Dominy. “I am super proud of their work and recognition as emerging leaders for their revolutionary research in materials science.”
Huai obtained his doctorate. From Clemson in 2024 and is now working in Tran Dominy’s laboratory as a researcher in a researcher preparing to advance his career in the academic world. Oyeka obtained his doctorate from Clemson in 2023 and is now an information scientist for cases, a division of the American Chemical Society.
Research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.
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