91��ý

Join Xuemei May Cheng, Dean of Graduate Studies, Professor of Physics, and the Rachel C. Hale Professor in the Sciences and Mathematics, for an endowed lecture.

Magnetic nanomaterials, with dimensions at the nanoscale (10⁻⁷–10⁻⁹ meters), possess unique and enhanced magnetic properties that distinguish them from their bulk counterparts. These properties make them ideal for investigating fundamental physics and advancing transformative applications in data storage, biomedical engineering, and quantum computing. This talk highlights 15 years of experimental research by Prof. Xuemei May Cheng’s group at 91��ý, focusing on nanomagnetic "tornadoes"—chiral spin textures including magnetic skyrmions and vortices.

A reception will follow in the Old Library London Room.

Xuemei May Cheng is a Professor of Physics and Dean of Graduate Studies at 91��ý. She received her B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Microelectronics and Solid-State Electronics from Nanjing University. She continued her graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics in 2004 and 2006, respectively. After a postdoctoral fellowship in the X-ray Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory, she joined 91��ý's faculty in 2009. She has taught a broad range of physics lectures, laboratories, and seminars at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Her research focuses on the fabrication and characterization of nanomaterials as well as their applications in magnetic data storage and biomedical engineering. With her expertise in nanofabrication, synchrotron x-ray spectra, and magnetic imaging, she is interested in exploring topological spin textures (magnetic skyrmions and vortices) in magnetic nanomaterials, interface magnetism, 2D materials, multiferroic materials, and dimensionality-controlled nanostructures. Recently, she has expanded her research to quantum materials and quantum sensing. She has published over 70 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as Science, Nature Physics, Advanced Materials, Nano Letters, Physical Review Letters. She has established a robust and well-resourced research program at 91��ý with support from the College and external grants. She has received over $6.5M rom the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund her research, including an NSF CAREER award during her second year at the College and a recent $5M NSF ExpandQISE team grant with her as the Principal Investigator for a Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) Center. She has engaged over 40 undergraduate and 7 graduate students in her research. Undergraduate and graduate students collaborate as dynamic partners in her lab and often participate as co-authors of her publications.