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In this issue

• A Message from the Chair
• Call for DMP Focus Session Topics for 2017 APS March Meeting
• New Members of the Executive Committee
• March Meeting: Location
• March Meeting: DMP Sponsored Meetings
• Division of Materials Physics Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards
• Award and Prize Recipients and New APS Fellows
• March Meeting: DMP Sponsored Symposia & Special Events
• March Meeting: Pre-meeting Workshops
• March Meeting: Tutorials
• DMP Executive Committee

A Message from the Chair

With the 2016 March meeting less than a month away, I want to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about the DMP program and to alert you to upcoming important deadlines where you, the DMP Membership, play a key role in keeping DMP a leading, vibrant, unifying element of the APS.

This Newsletter itself is your first guide to the wide variety of DMP sessions and activities to be found in Baltimore.  DMP leads 19 Focus Topics comprising 115 sessions that capture the breadth of materials physics, with science ranging from iron-based superconductors to 2D materials, and from halide perovskites to metamaterials.  As part of the scientific program, we will recognize the recipients of the McGroddy Prize for New Materials, Mercouri Kanatzidis, and the Adler Lectureship awardee, Harry Atwater.  Our current Vice Chair, Dan Dessau, has assembled an outstanding lineup of speakers for the annual ‘Physics for Everyone’ Symposium on Wednesday, including Rush Holt, current AAAS Chief Executive, Millie Dresselhaus reminiscing on her career in nanoscience, Alan Wilner on the optics revolution underlying the internet, Duncan Watts from Microsoft Research on computational social science, and Gene Stanley telling us about one of the most important and complicated materials – water.

We will recognize our award winners and the 16 new APS Fellows nominated through DMP on Tuesday evening, March 15, from 5:30-7:00 in the Hilton Baltimore - Key Ballroom 4.  This event also showcases DMP’s commitment to promote early career scientists through the Ovshinsky Travel Awardees, the IUPAP C-10 Young Scientist Prize, and the second Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Condensed Matter and Materials Physics.  I hope you will be able to join us on Tuesday evening to celebrate these outstanding DMP colleagues.  The annual DMP Business meeting follows immediately in the Hilton Holiday Ballroom 1.

As you have been notified already, now is the time to propose new Focus Topics next year’s March Meeting by contacting Dan Dessau, who will be the DMP Program Chair for the 2017 March Meeting, March 13 – 17 in New Orleans, LA. The DMP focus topics provide an opportunity to gather related talks in distinct and well-defined focus sessions on topics of intense interest; they also provide the opportunity to mix invited and contributed talks in the same forum. Your colleagues will appreciate and benefit from your suggestions, so please send your best ideas to Dan (Dessau@colorado.edu) following the instructions found later in this Newsletter. Later in the spring, the complete list of focus topics will be announced.  Please consider suggesting invited speakers to the organizers; your input is critical to the success of these core DMP contributions to the program.

DMP sponsors two major recognitions: the David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics, and the James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials. Please consider who among your colleagues might be deserving of one of these high visibility, prestigious awards and put together an application package. The deadline for 2017 nomination packages is July 1, 2016. See the Prizes, Awards & Fellows pages for details of the nomination processes.

New APS Fellowship nominations are also on the horizon, with DMP requesting the nomination packages by May 2, 2016. You can find information on how to nominate your colleagues at the APS Fellows page. Amanda Petford-Long, who will join the DMP officers as Vice-Chair immediately following the March Meeting will chair the selection process and looks forward to your suggestions.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the DMP Executive committee, and in particular Michael Flatté and Secretary-Treasurer Robert Nemanich, for their tireless efforts and commitment to improving DMP and APS more broadly.  If you liked the virtual board at the Sorter’s Meeting, you have Michael to thank. Also, a word of appreciation to Laura Greene, immediate Past-Chair, whose DMP Executive Committee service is wrapping up. I would like to thank her for her sage advice and leadership; please join me in wishing Laura the best as she moves up the APS Presidential Line. It has been a pleasure serving with all of them as we have set out to represent you, the diverse, energetic, and thoughtful membership not only through the meeting program but also through ongoing engagement with APS leadership.  DMP is a thriving, vital, unifying part of APS, and it has been an honor serving as your Chair for the past year.

See you in Baltimore!
John Mitchell, DMP Chair

Call for DMP Focus Session Topics for 2017 APS March Meeting

The Division of Materials Physics sponsors a wide range of Focus Topics as its primary structure for the March Meeting. Typically spanning several sessions throughout the March Meeting, Focus Topics allow an in-depth view of forefront materials physics research areas and connect invited speakers to associated contributed abstracts.

Each year, the existing set of Focus Topics is evaluated for inclusion in the next year's program. In addition, new candidates for Focus Topics are considered based on timeliness, an assessment of the community interest, and uniqueness with the existing DMP program and those of sister units. Ideas coming from the DMP community at large are an extremely important part of this process.

To that end, the DMP Executive Committee solicits your input for the 2017 Focus Topic slate. New Focus Topics should represent a significant topic that would support 3 or more March Meeting sessions (each session typically has 1 invited talk and 12 related contributed talks).

Please send proposed Focus Topics to DMP Secretary/Treasurer Robert Nemanich (robert.nemanich@asu.edu) by Friday, March 4, 2016. Please include

• Descriptive Title of the Focus Topic
• The nominator’s name, affiliation, phone number and e-mail address
• A brief abstract noting timeliness and uniqueness of the topic relative to the existing program (for examples: http://www.aps.org/units/dmp/invited-speaker.cfm).
• A description of the intended audience that supports the size and scope of a Focus Topic.
• Suggestions for possible organizers.

Any additional information you would like to provide that will help the DMP Executive Committee in its decision-making process will be appreciated. For your reference, a complete list of the 2016 Focus Topics is included in this mailing. Full descriptions of the 2016 Focus Topics can be found online at http://www.aps.org/units/dmp/invited-speaker.cfm.

If you have any questions or would like assistance in the preparation of your proposal, please contact DMP Chair John Mitchell (mitchell@anl.gov ).

Thank you in advance for your help in this extremely important part of planning for the future success of the DMP program.

Sincerely,
Dan Dessau, DMP Vice-Chair and 2017 Program Chair
Michael Flatté, DMP Chair-Elect and 2016 Program Chair

DMP Led Focus Topics for 2016

(More details at http://www.aps.org/units/dmp/invited-speaker.cfm)

7.1.1: Dielectric and Ferroic Oxides
7.1.2: Topological Materials: Synthesis and Characterization
7.1.4: Strongly spin-orbit coupled oxides/emergent entwinement
7.1.5: Organometal Halide Perovskites; Photovoltaics and beyond
8.1.2: Dopants and Defects in Semiconductors
9.1.1: Fe-based Superconductors
12.1.1: 2D materials: synthesis, defects, structure and properties
12.1.2: 2D materials: semiconductors
12.1.3: Devices from 2D materials: function, fabrication and characterization
12.1.4: 2D materials: metals, superconductors, and correlated materials
12.1.5: Carbon Nanotubes and Related Materials: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications
12.1.6: Van der Waals Bonding in Advanced Materials
12.1.7: Computational Discovery and Design of New Materials
13.1.1: Nanostructures and Metamaterials
13.1.2: Many-body perturbation theory for electronic excitations in materials
13.1.3: Electron, Ion, and Exciton Transport in Nanostructures
13.1.4: Complex Oxide Interfaces and Heterostructures
13.1.5: Thermoelectric Phenomena, Materials, Devices, and Applications
13.1.6: Mesoscopic Materials and Devices

New Members of the Executive Committee

The following members were elected to serve on the DMP Executive Committee:

• Vice Chair: Amanda K. Petford-Long, Argonne National Laboratory
• Member at Large: Scott Chambers, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Member at Large: Michelle Johannes, Naval Research Laboratory

We congratulate the new members of the Executive Committee and look forward to their participation and leadership.

March Meeting: Location

The 2016 March Meeting of the APS will take place, March 12-18, 2016 in the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland. All scientific sessions will be in the Convention Center but events and activities may be in the Convention Center or the Baltimore Hilton Inner Harbor hotel. Check event details for time and place.

For further information see:
http://www.aps.org/meetings/march/index.cfm

For the DMP sponsored sessions see:
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR16/SessionIndex2?SponsorID=DMP

March Sponsored Meetings: DMP/DCMP Fellows and Awards Reception and Business Meeting

The Division of Materials Physics will sponsor the following meetings during the 2016 March meeting. This is your opportunity to interact with the Executive Committee and to become informed of the activities of the Division.

Tuesday, March 15
DCMP/DMP New Fellows & Award Winners Reception
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Hilton Baltimore - Key Ballroom 4

DMP Business Meeting, (JA50)
7:00-8:00pm
Baltimore Hilton Inner Harbor - Holiday Ballroom 1

Division of Materials Physics Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards

The Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards and Honorable Mention Awards have been established to assist the career of student researchers. The Awards are in memory of Iris and Stanford Ovshinsky who had a very strong interest and commitment to scientific education. The awards have been endowed by the Ovshinsky family, their colleagues at Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) companies and all their numerous friends from many social, intellectual and business relationships.

We are extremely grateful to the Ovshinsky family for this award. Since the original launch of the award, the family have provided further gifts to endow the awards.

The Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards will be presented at the DCMP/DMP New Fellows and Award Winners Reception, Tuesday, March 15, 5:30 p.m. in Hilton Baltimore - Key Ballroom 4.

The recipients of the 2016 Ovshinsky Student Travel Awards for Materials Physics are:

Name/Institution

Lars Bjaalie, University of California Santa Barbara
Guillaume Froehlicher, IPCMS (CNRS & Universit de Strasbourg)
Charlotte Herbig, University of Cologne
Liang Hong, University of Illinois at Chicago
Tianyi Liu, University of Pennsylvania
Arun Mannodi-Kanakkithodi, University of Connecticut
Minh-Hai Nguyen, Cornell University
Michael Veit, Stanford University
Joshua Young, Drexel University
Xiao-Xiao Zhang, Columbia University

The recipients of the 2016 Ovshinsky Student Travel Honorable Mention Awards for Materials Physics are:

Name/Institution

Mohammad Atif Faiz Afzal, University at Buffalo, SUNY
Jihong Al-Ghalith, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Anushika Athauda, University of Virginia
Wei Jiang, University of Utah
Ryan Need, University of California Santa Barbara
Sobhit Singh, Department of Physics and Astronomy
Sai Swaroop Sunku, Columbia University
Renan Villarreal, University of Geneva
Wennie Wang, University of California, Santa Barbara
Melanie White, University of Las Vegas - Nevada
Yichao Xu, University of California, San Diego

Award and Prize Winners

James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Northwestern University
“For seminal contributions to the discovery of new families of thermoelectric materials with the highest known figure of merit.”

David Adler Lectureship Award
Harry A. Atwater, California Institute of Technology
“For pioneering work in photonics, plasmonics, optical metamaterials, and photovoltaics, and for his outstanding presentations and outreach to the general audience.”

IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in the Structure and Dynamics of Condensed Matter (C10)
Wenzhong Bao, Department of Microelectronics, Fudan University, China
“For his outstanding contribution in electrical and mechanical properties of the low-dimensional quantum materials.”

Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter or Materials Physics
Susanne Baumann, IBM Almaden Res Ctr
“For outstanding work in measuring and controlling the spin properties of individual magnetic atoms on surfaces by high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy.”

Alexander Steppke, University of St Andrews
“For thermodynamic study of quantum criticality in Yb(Rh_0.93Co_0.27)₂ and YbNi₄(P_1-xAs_x)₂.”

2015 APS Fellows nominated through DMP

Eric Bauer (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
For outstanding and original contributions to the discovery and understanding of correlated electron systems, specifically for the study of complex electronic states hosted by correlated actinide and rare-earth materials.

Scott Chambers (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
For pioneering contributions in the growth and properties of crystalline oxide films, particularly the fundamental relationships between composition and structure, and the resulting electronic, magnetic, and photochemical properties.

Craig Fennie (Cornell University)
For the invention of novel mechanisms enabling dielectric, ferroelectric, and multiferroic functionalities in complex oxides, and identification of materials realizations through first principles methods.

Jaime Fernandez-Baca (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
For seminal neutron scattering studies of magnetic materials, especially the spin and lattice dynamics of colossal magnetoresistive manganites.

Sergei Kalinin (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
For foundational contribution to nanoscale electromechanics and revolutionary studies of defect-mediated phase transitions, energy conversion, and electrochemical reactivity at the nanometer and atomic scales enabled by advanced scanning probe microscopy techniques.

Ron Lifshitz (Tel Aviv University)
For the theory of nonlinear dynamics and relaxation of vibrational modes in nanomechanical systems and for groundbreaking results on the symmetry stabilization, and photonic and magnetic properties of quasicrystals.

Junming Liu (Nanjing University)
For seminal contributions to the synthesis and characterization of multiferroic materials and other complex transition metal oxides, and to the understanding of physics of rare-earth manganites with multiferroicity and colossal magnetoresistance.

Michael Manfra (Purdue University)
For advancing MBE growth of AlGaAs/GaAs and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures that enable fundamental understanding of 2D electron correlation effects and realization of novel devices.

Carlos Meriles (City College of New York)
For creative contributions to the development of novel techniques in magnetic resonance, including ex-situ MRI scanning, spin hyperpolarization and optical detection.

Ning Pan (University of California, Davis)
For significant contributions to the scientific research of mechanics and physics in the field of fibrous materials.

John Pendry (Imperial College London)
For the discovery of metamaterials.

Antoni Planes (Universitat de Barcelona)
For outstanding and original contributions to the study of fundamental aspects of phase transition dynamics in functional materials.

Ramamurthy Ramprasad (University of Connecticut)
For pioneering contributions to the computation-driven rational design of materials, especially polymeric and inorganic dielectric materials and catalysts.

Tanusri Saha-Dasgupta (S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences)
For development of fast and accurate electronic structure methods allowing the combined study of material-specific and many-body aspects, and their application in understanding the transition-metal oxides and quantum spin systems.

Liling Sun (Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing)
For outstanding contributions in the study of iron-based superconductors and other quantum correlated materials, and in the development of state-of-the-art systems for in-situ high pressure measurements.

Yang Yang (University of California, Los Angeles)
For extraordinary contributions in organic and hybrid electronic materials, interfacial engineering, and novel device design that have led to highly efficient organic and hybrid solar cells, digital memory devices, vertical transistors, and organic LEDs.