Physical Chemistry Seminar: Professor Sarah King, University of Chicago
About the Seminar
Interfacial Dynamics and Structure: Their Dual Nature in Material Functionality
It has alternatively been said that "The interface is the device" (Herbert Kroemer, 2000 Nobel Lecture) and that "God made the bulk; the surface was invented by the devil" (Wolfgang Pauli). This duality of interfaces—their critical importance coupled with the significant challenges of investigating their properties—drives the research focus of my group.
In this talk, I will present the diverse experimental approaches we employ to probe nanoscale structure and ultrafast dynamics at both internal and external material and chemical interfaces. Through two contrasting case studies, I will illustrate when interfaces critically determine material function and when they don't. First, I'll demonstrate how interfacial structure directly influences ferroelectric and antiferroelectric domain formation in In2Se3. This will be contrasted with our findings on two-dimensional black phosphorus, where bulk material anisotropy proves to be more influential than the presence of interfaces. I'll conclude by highlighting our recent advances in investigating electromagnetic field dynamics at interfaces, specifically how strategic interfacial design can shape surface plasmon polaritons in layered 2D materials.
About the Speaker
Prof. King received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010 and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Chemistry in 2015 as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow under the direction of Prof. Daniel Neumark. She continued her scientific training as an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral fellow at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin, Germany from 2015-2018 working with Prof. Julia Stähler. Since 2018 Prof. King has been an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago. Prof. King’s research focuses on developing advanced microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to investigate and intentionally tune charge and energy transport at interfaces. Prof. King has won numerous awards including a DOE Early Career Award, an NSF CAREER Award, a 2020 Beckman Young Investigator Award, a Cottrell Scholar Award, and was named a 2025 Sloan Research Fellow.