Materials Science Research

 

Materials science research at the University of West Georgia brings together chemistry and physics to investigate the materials that shape our world and drive emerging technologies.

Our faculty and students explore how materials are created, how their structure influences their properties and performance, and how those properties can be understood and applied. Through interdisciplinary research, we investigate materials across scales, from molecular and nanoscale systems to functional materials designed for energy, electronic, magnetic, and other technological applications.

Research at UWG combines fundamental scientific discovery with hands-on experimentation and advanced materials characterization. Students have opportunities to work alongside faculty using modern instrumentation and research methods to synthesize materials, measure their physical and chemical properties, and explore questions with applications in energy, electronics, nanotechnology, and advanced materials.


 

 

 

Research AreasExploring the properties, performance, and potential of materials through interdisciplinary research.

Quantum, Magnetic & Electronic Materials
 
UWG researchers explore how atomic structure, magnetism, electronic behavior, pressure, and temperature influence material properties. Research includes quantum and magnetic materials, electronic transport, condensed-matter systems, and materials studied under extreme conditions.
Energy & Sustainable Materials
 
UWG faculty investigate battery and energy-storage materials, sustainable-energy technologies, and the interactions between light, energy, and matter that can inform future material development.
Nanomaterials & Materials Characterization
 
UWG researchers synthesize and investigate materials using techniques that reveal their optical, structural, electronic, magnetic, and physical properties. Capabilities include time-resolved emission spectroscopy, crystallography, transport measurements, bulk-property measurements, and high-pressure research.
Chemistry, Synthesis & Molecular Systems
 
UWG chemists investigate how molecules, polymers, soft materials, and self-assembled systems can be created, analyzed, and understood. This research connects chemical synthesis and physical chemistry with advanced spectroscopic and analytical techniques.

 

Some of our Research GroupsExplore faculty-led research bringing together chemistry, physics and materials science to investigate the properties of matter, develop new materials and technologies, and address challenges in energy, medicine and advanced manufacturing.

The Chesnut Group

Silicon Photonics & Materials Under Extreme Conditions

Investigating the physical and optical properties of materials, including silicon-based photonic systems and the behavior of materials under extreme pressure and temperature conditions.

Research Areas: Quantum, Magnetic & Electronic Materials; Nanomaterials & Materials Characterization

 

Research & PublicationsExplore recent scholarly publications and research achievements from Perry College faculty and students working at the forefront of quantum materials, advanced materials characterization, energy technologies, semiconductors, and emerging materials science applications.

2026

  • Pervasive Electronic Nematicity Across the Doping-Tuned Phase Diagram of Kagome Superconductors

    Communications Physics (October 2026)

    Faculty Contributor: Ganesh Pokharel

  • Interplay Between Charge Correlations and Superconductivity Across the Superconducting Domes of CsV₃Sb₅₋ₓSnₓ

    Physical Review B (August 2026)

    Faculty Contributor: Ganesh Pokharel

  • A First-Principles Investigation of Altermagnetism in CrSb₂ Under Applied Pressure

    Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (July 2026)

    Faculty Contributor: Ganesh Pokharel

  • Influence of Controlled Disorder on the Dipolar Spin-Ice State of Ho-Based Pyrochlores

    Physical Review B (June 2026)

    Faculty Contributor: Ganesh Pokharel

2025

  • Interleaved Lattice and Magnetic Frustration in LnCd₃P₃ (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd)

    Nature Materials (2025)

    Faculty Contributor: Ganesh Pokharel

  • Pomeranchuk Instability from Electronic Correlations in CsTi₃Bi₅ Kagome Metal

    Nature Communications (2025)

    Faculty Contributor: Ganesh Pokharel

  • Evolution of Charge Correlations in the Hole-Doped Kagome Superconductor CsV₃₋ₓTiₓSb₅

    Physical Review Materials, 9, 094805 (2025)

    Faculty Contributor: Ganesh Pokharel

2024

  • Investigation of the Mixed Cation Effect and the Irradiance Level Dependence on the Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

    Ionics (2024)

    Faculty Contributor: L. Ajith DeSilva

  • Strategic Graphene Integration in Multilayer Photoanodes for Enhanced Quasi-Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells and Performance Under Variable Irradiance

    Journal of Applied Electrochemistry (2024)

    Faculty Contributor: L. Ajith DeSilva


 

 

 

Instrumentation

Student researcher holding a sample cuvette beside a JASCO V-770 spectrophotometer displaying spectral data.

Instrumentation

  • Subnanosecond time-resolved emission spectrometer
    Measures extremely fast light-emission processes in materials on subnanosecond timescales. The instrument allows researchers to investigate fluorescence and photoluminescence lifetimes, excited-state behavior, and energy-transfer processes, providing insight into the optical and electronic properties of molecular and advanced materials.
  • Materials Synthesis & Characterization
    Facilities supporting materials research include an N₂-filled glove box for air-sensitive materials, high-temperature and vacuum furnaces, a tube furnace and tube-sealing station, high-energy ball mill, pellet press, sonicator, centrifuge, microscope, and data-analysis workstations. Research activities include solid-state synthesis, crystal growth, X-ray diffraction, electrical transport, and bulk-property characterization.
  • Hitachi AFM5100N Atomic Force Microscope
    Enables nanoscale imaging and characterization of material surfaces, including surface morphology and topography.
  • JASCO V-770 UV-Visible/NIR Spectrophotometer
    Supports optical characterization across UV, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths for studying absorption, transmission, and related properties.
  •  Laurell WS-400B Spin Coating Processor
    Used to prepare uniform thin films and coatings for optical, electronic, and materials investigations.
  • CRYO Industries Low-Temperature Closed-Cycle Cryostat (10-300 K)
    Enables temperature-dependent characterization of material properties from cryogenic temperatures through room temperature.
  • Optical Reflectivity Measurement System
    Supports reflectivity measurements for investigating the optical properties of materials and thin films.

  • Optical Emission Measurement System
    Supports emission and luminescence measurements used to investigate the optical behavior of materials.