Sophia E. Hayes

Undergraduate Research opportunity (applications due Feb, annually): NSF Summer Program in Solid-State Chemistry
Postdoctoral Research opportunity (for German citizens only): through the Alexander von Humboldt, Feodor Lynen Fellows Program

Optically-pumped Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (OPNMR): The goal of our research is to probe the interplay between dopants, defects, and interfaces and electronic properties of various semiconductors and other optically active materials. To that end, we are developing experimental strategies based on modern solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which help elucidate the structure and dynamics of complex systems (e.g., thin films, nanoclusters, and amorphous materials).

I. Optically-polarized NMR (OPNMR): OPNMR combines laser excitation with NMR detection. The laser creates polarized electronic spins that couple to nuclear spins. The polarized nuclear spins can then be detected by NMR. We are applying optical pumping techniques to systems of semiconductors to better understand their opto-electronic properties: semiconductor quantum wells, nanoclusters and quantum wires, and opto-electronic devices.

II. Hardware for combined OPNMR and optically-detected NMR (ODNMR): as with OPNMR, ODNMR utilizes laser excitation coupled with NMR where the luminescence is recorded rather than the rf signal. We are designing an integrated system to record both types of information in a single apparatus.

III. NMR of optical switch materials: numerous sys-tems exhibit a structural switch when irradiated with light at a specific wavelength. When this structural change can be reversed with the application of light at a different frequency, an "optical switch" has been created. We are studying systems to observe the structural changes that occur in the material or in composites which house the switch material.

IV. Cluster science and NMR: molecular clusters, nanoclusters, and macroscopic clusters offer unique opportunities for NMR study. We are focusing efforts on several fronts in this arena having to do with the chemical shift values of specific nuclei in these different environments. Much of our work is concerned with ⁷⁷Se NMR and ¹²⁵Te. New ternary II-VI semiconducting nanoclusters (shown in the TEM image) are being fabricated and studied via NMR.

Center for Materials Innovation (CMI)
International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES)

2008-present, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Washington University
2008-present, Member, International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy & Sustainability, (I CARES), Washington University
2004-present, Member, Center for Materials Innovation (CMI), Washington University
2001-2008, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Washington University
2001 Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Dortmund, Germany. Advisor: Professor Dieter Suter
1998-2000 Directorate Postdoctoral Fellow, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA and Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. Advisors: Dr. Clenn Fox (LLNL) Prof. Jeffrey A. Reimer (UC Berkeley)
1993-1998, Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara. Advisors: Professor Hellmut Eckert and Dr. William R. Even
1993, Summer Intern, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA. Advisor: Dr. William R. Even
1990-1993, Associate, Hagler, Bailly, Inc. (an energy and environmental consulting firm), San Francisco, CA