My research interests encompass experimental investigations of High Energy Density (HED) Science, particularly focusing on short pulse laser-solid interactions, relativistic electron generation, hard x-ray generation, and fast electron transport, all of which are relevant to laser fusion schemes such as Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and Fast Ignition (FI). The plasma conditions created by high-power lasers are expected to reach temperatures in the millions of degrees and densities above that of solid matter. I am particularly interested in using x-ray diagnostics (including x-ray spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy, and x-ray imaging) to investigate these plasmas. This approach aids in understanding complex physical phenomena like the equation of state, phase transitions, radiation transport, shock wave heating, and compression in states of matter known as warm dense matter. Additionally, I am interested in the physics of charged particles generated by high-power, short-pulse lasers. The characterization and potential applications of these relativistic particles are also central to my research interests.
Kevin Heintz
My specialty is data acquisition for groundwater and hydrometeorological applications, especially remote environmental sensing and aquifer characterization.
Other research interests include numerical modeling of hydraulics and heat transport as well as evaluating the functionality of springs and riparian areas.
Philippe Vidon
Executive Director for the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
Philippe obtained his PhD in Geography from York University, ON, Canada in 2004, and subsequently occupied professor positions at Indiana University – Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI) and at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry a.k.a. ESF, in Syracuse, NY. There he served as Director of the Hydrological Systems Science Council, among other leadership appointments. His most recent research has focused on a broad range of topics including (but not limited to): watershed management, water quality, soil biogeochemistry (e.g., N, P, C, Hg cycling and soil N2O, CO2, and CH4 emissions), bioenergy, and the impact of beaver dam analogues on floodplain hydrogeomorphology and landscape resiliency.
Maryam Sarmazdeh
Maryam Raeeszadeh-Sarmazdeh joined the University of Nevada, Reno in July 2019 as an assistant professor. Her research group is focused on biomolecular engineering and synthetic biology to develop novel biotechnology tools and products to solve major issues in human health, sustainability and environment. Dr. Sarmazdeh was a senior research fellow in the Department of Cancer Biology at Mayo Clinic, Florida, during which her work was focused on engineering novel protein-based therapeutics based on natural enzyme inhibitors. Prior to her appointment at Mayo Clinic, she was a postdoctoral scholar at the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Delaware where her research was focused on enzyme and metabolic pathway engineering. Dr. Sarmazdeh earned her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. There, her research was focused on generating site-specific protein immobilization on the surface and protein engineering using yeast surface display and directed evolution.
Natia Frank
Prof. Natia L. Frank received her Bachelor’s degree with Honors from Bard College in 1987 (Chemistry, Math, Music), an M.Sc. in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1989), and Ph.D at the University of California-San Diego (1996, Organic Chemistry). She was a CNRS Postdoctoral Fellow with the late Prof. Olivier Kahn at the University of Bordeaux, France (spin-based materials), and an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow (Biomaterials, Prof. Thomas Meade/Prof. Harry Gray) at Caltech. She began her independent career in 2000 as an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington-Seattle in the study of multifunctional magnetic materials for spintronics and biosensing. In 2005, she was recruited as a Canada Research Chair Tier II in Multifunctional Materials Chemistry at the University of Victoria where she developed optically switchable spin-based qubits for quantum science. In 2012, she was a Visiting Scholar at Humbolt University (Physics), Berlin, Germany, and University of Rennes (Chemistry), France. In 2020, she joined the University of Nevada-Reno as Associate Professor of Chemistry. Her primary expertise is at the interface of organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, spin-based materials and photochemistry/electron transfer theory which allows her to be well-situated to address current challenges in molecular quantum information science: the design of molecular qubits with long decoherence times, multiqubit arrays, and qubits/qudits that can respond to external stimuli for quantum computing and sensing. Prof. Frank currently serves on two funded DOE EFRC advisory boards in quantum science, the ACS-PRF Advisory Board, and has served on numerous NSF funding panels in quantum relevant areas.
Keith Lawler
My primary research interest lies in studying systems where strong electron correlation effects are the source of exotic bonding or unique properties, or where intricate changes in the bonding motif drive an observed phase change. This involves studying a system’s electronic structure; its properties, both structural and spectroscopic; and its response to external stimuli such as pressure and temperature. Understanding these electron driven properties and responses is fascinating from a scientific point of view, and it will be the key to unlocking the next generation of functional materials.
Zaijing Sun
Dr. Sun is an associate professor in the Department of Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Nuclear Physics from Idaho State University in 2012 with an area specification in radiation sciences and acceleration applications. Before joining UNLV, he had been an assistant/associate professor at the South Carolina State University and a postdoc in the Nuclear Engineering Division at the Argonne National laboratory.
Dr. Sun has been instructing many courses in health physics and radiation sciences such as Radiation Sciences, Introduction to Health Physics, Radiation Detection and Measurement, Introduction of Nuclear and Radiochemistry, Ionizing Radiation, Radioisotope Laboratory, etc. His research interests include Health Physics, Radiochemistry, Nuclear Activation Analysis (NAA and PAA), Computer Simulations of Nuclear Processes, Gamma-ray Spectroscopy and 3-D isotopic imaging, Medical Application of Particle Accelerators, Archaeometry, Temporal Data Mining (TDM) in Nuclear Decommissioning and Medical Imaging, and Medical Isotope Production. He is a member of the Health Physics Society, American Nuclear Society, and American Physical Society.
Craig Schwartz
We use X-ray sources around the world around the world to understand disordered materials, particularly at interfaces, using large international laser facilities such as those in Italy and Japan. This includes materials such as liquids to better understand fundamental phenomena like how evaporation occurs. It also includes solar cells where we try to make ever more efficient devices.
Jared Bruce
Photochemistry is central to many aspects of energy conversion, atmospheric chemistry, corrosion, and catalysis. The ability to drive chemical reactions selectively and efficiently on surfaces with light remains a significant challenge, as these transformations are often dependent on the structure and chemical nature of the material surface. Furthermore, as more complex, multi-component materials are used in photochemical applications, robust model systems are needed to understand how synergistic properties impact these transformations.
The Bruce Group focuses on processes related to the conversion of light to drive chemical reactions at different interfaces. Our group are world experts in surface chemistry using ultrahigh vacuum, near ambient pressure, and operando spectroscopy/microscopy techniques. This, coupled with electrochemical and photoelectrochemical characterization, enables a unique insight into photochemical conversions at gas-liquid, liquid-solid, and solid-gas interfaces.
Michael Pravica
I am a high pressure physicist who studies matter subjected to extreme conditions using spectroscopic means (infrared, Raman, x-ray absorption and nuclear magnetic resonance.).