MSE Seminar: Shuolong Yang
Event interval: Single day event
Campus location: Bagley Hall (BAG)
Campus room: 154
Accessibility Contact: Matthew Yankowitz, myank@uw.edu
Event Types: Lectures/Seminars
Title: Engineering Topological Quantum Matter in Space and Time.
Abstract: Topology has emerged as a unifying principle in modern condensed matter physics and materials science, enabling quantum phases that are remarkably robust yet exquisitely sensitive to their underlying environment. While traditional approaches to topological materials discovery rely on chemistry, the rise of moiré quantum materials suggests a different strategy: engineering topology by tailoring the physical environment.
In this talk I will highlight my group’s recent efforts to control scalable topological quantum matter using two fundamental physical knobs – space and time. We constructed a unique testbed to manipulate and probe materials at femtosecond time scale and atomic-layer spatial scale . In space, by precision control of dimensionality, we demonstrate 2-quintuple-layer Bi2Te3 and MnBi2Te4/Bi2Te3 as robust 2D topological insulators with an inverted gap greater than 100 meV, suggesting a potential quantum spin Hall effect operating at ambient temperature . In time, we show that topological electronic states carry intrinsic layer-dependent vibrational fingerprints. By “listening” to these frequencies as the states couple to coherent phonons, we develop a quantum stethoscope capable of resolving long-standing puzzles in magnetic topological insulators, including the elusive broken-symmetry energy gap . In combined space-time co-engineering, I will present our latest results integrating photonic crystal cavities with ultrathin topological insulators to realize cavity-driven Floquet engineering . This platform represents a new class of physical-environment control experiments, where the ground states of topological materials are reshaped simultaneously in space and time. Together, these examples illustrate a paradigm in which topological phenomena can be designed and manipulated by engineering the physical environment, and potentially stabilized near ambient conditions – opening pathways toward scalable quantum materials and devices.
References
C. Yan et al. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 92, 113907 (2021)
W. Lee et al. In revision (2026)
W. Lee et al. Nature Phys. 19, 950 (2023)
K. D. Nguyen et al. Science Advances 10, eadn5696 (2024)
Y. Bai et al. In preparation
Bio: Dr. Shuolong Yang is an Assistant Professor of molecular engineering at the University of Chicago. He pioneered the approach to combine atomic-level materials synthesis with time-domain photoemission spectroscopy. He is recognized by an NSF CAREER award, a DOE Early Career award, and a NASA Early Career Faculty award. He is a Moore Foundation Investigator and named a 2025 Emerging Investigator by Nanoscale.