By David Goddard. Photography by Randall Brown.
Chiral magnets are a class of materials that hold great promise to a number of fields, including data storage and energy use.
Understanding their structure and behavior is a key step toward their adaptation as a “next big thing” in electronics and devices. Assistant Professor Dustin Gilbert may have opened the door to that possibility with his idea of using neutrons and X-rays to better unlock the secrets of chiral magnets.
Gilbert’s proposal also earned him national exposure, as his work was selected to gain funding under the US Department of Energy’s Early Career Research program through the agency’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences.
“I am honored and humbled to have been selected for this recognition,” said Gilbert. “I’m eager to explore and gain a better understanding of chiral magnets, their properties, and their potential uses.”
Gilbert’s project, Exotic Uses of Neutrons and X-rays as Probes for Chiral Magnets, hopes to succeed by using the special ways neutrons and X-rays interact with magnetism.
He said the power of both interactions is their ability to resolve these extremely small magnetic features.
Neutrons allow researchers to see within the structure of the magnets themselves, while X-rays give specific responses on their surface and have element-specific results. By using both techniques, scientists can learn about all the properties of the magnet and magnetic field at the same time.
“Being able to probe inside these particular magnetic fields without magnetic interference would be a big step forward,” said Gilbert. “We’re only at the start of understanding how we can utilize chiral magnets, so anything that helps us gain knowledge of how they work and interact could have major implications down the road.”
Gilbert will receive a minimum of $150,000 a year for the next five years from the program, highlighting the importance of his work to the nation.
“The Department of Energy is proud to support funding that will sustain America’s scientific workforce and create opportunities for our researchers to remain competitive on the world stage,” said Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar. “By bolstering our commitment to the scientific community, we invest into our nation’s next generation of innovators.”
Now in its 11th year, the DOE program is aimed at helping “exceptional researchers during crucial early career years,” in one of six offices with the DOE’s Office of Science: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, or Nuclear Physics.
Gilbert and others who were chosen were selected by outside experts based on peer review of proposals. The research portion of his project will be carried out Oak Ridge National Laboratory and at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.