Gabriela Petculescu is the Principal Investigator on a Major Research Instrumentation award from the National Science Foundation. The grant will enable the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS), which will expand basic research in condensed matter physics at UL Lafayette. The instrument will allow precise investigations of phase transitions of solid state samples at low temperatures and over a range of magnetic fields.
This important award is the result of a wide collaborative effort. The Co-Principal Investigators are, in alphabetical order, Michalis Charilaou (Physics, ULL), Ling Fei (Chemical Engineering, ULL), Jonathan Raush (Mechanical Engineering, ULL), and Carl Richter (Geosciences, ULL). Senior Researchers on the project are Eric Ferre (Geosciences, ULL), Nicholas Jones (US Navy, NSWC-CD), Hui Yan (Chemistry, ULL), and Xiao-Dong Zhou (Chemical Engineering, ULL). In addition, researchers from LSU, NSWC-CD, Montana State University, University of Texas at Dallas, and LA-Tech are external collaborators and users.
The PPMS instrument will be hosted and maintained by the Institute of Materials Research and Innovation (IMRI) at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.