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Status will be released for Spring IntroSems by March 5th. Look for the list of IntroSems with Space Available to post here on March 7th.

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APPPHYS 77N: Functional Materials and Devices

Group of Vedar or Veta Vellalar person undertaking a pilgrimage from Muttur town in Sri Lanka to Kataragama in the South. Patrick Harrigan, Wikipedia.

General Education Requirements

Way SMA


Please note: A concurrent first-year-level physics class is recommended but not required.


Course Description

One of the key components in the development of newer, better devices has been the development of new functional materials. Materials with magnetic functionality have enabled a number of products that we take for granted in everyday life—besides examples of magnetic storage media and read heads, there are induction stoves, loudspeakers, transformers, and in some other parts of the world, levitating trains. In this seminar, we will use case studies to explore how magnetically functional materials are incorporated into devices. We will study the fundamental magnetic concepts associated with each device and the specific materials that have enabled them. A few non-magnetic materials and devices will also be studied depending on the interests of the class. Many of the classes will include hands-on activities and instructor demonstrations to develop a better understanding of the concepts. Through hands-on sessions  and demonstrations, we hope that students will discover first hand how functional materials are incorporated into applications.


Meet the Instructor: Yuri Suzuki

Yuri Suzuki

Yuri Suzuki is a professor in the Department of Applied Physics.

"I earned my B.A. in physics at Harvard and my Ph.D. in applied physics at Stanford. After postdoctoral work at Bell Labs, I was on the faculty at Cornell and, more recently, UC Berkeley. My research is at the intersection of condensed matter physics and materials science. In particular, my research is focused on the development of new functional thin film materials to answer fundamental physics questions on incorporating these materials into potential applications, including new electronics for energy and information technologies."