Presidential Young Investigator Award

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This Presidential Young Investigator grant involves the study of complex fluids and mesoscopic systems. In particular research will be conducted in three general areas. First, on equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties of crystalline liquids, studies will be made on the role of fluctuations in the vicinity of flow-induced non-equilibrium critical points; on the spectrum and properties of interfacial excitations; and on the effects of fluctuations in thin films of pre-nematic fluids. Second, in the area of novel quantum effects in mesoscopic systems, studies will be made on geometrically-induced persistent currents in metallic rings and extensions to quantized fields including photon and phonon currents. Finally, Josephson effects in discs and other topologies will be studied. %%% This Presidential Young Investigator award will involve research on topics of current interest in condensed matter physics. Studies will be made of the properties of liquid crystals - a state of matter intermediate between a solid and a liquid. In particular, the effects of fluctuations on the properties of the liquid crystal as it changes from one phase to another will be studied. Research will also be conducted in the area of mesoscopic physics which is a region intermediate between those in which quantum mechanics applies and in which classical physics applies. This is a region which is becoming accessible as devices become smaller.