Physicist Sun Receives NSF CAREER Award

Dali Sun, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at NC State, has received an Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award, also known as the NSF CAREER award, is one of the highest awards the foundation gives to young faculty in the sciences. Sun also received an Early Career Research award from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2020.

The five-year award will support Sun’s research project entitled “Magnetism and Spintronics in Quasi-two-dimensional Magnetic Hybrid Metal Halides: From Bulk to 2D Limit.” Sun’s research will study spin behavior in a new class of hybrid magnetic materials, which consist of alternating magnetic and nonmagnetic atomic layers. These materials can facilitate the study of spin states at the atomic level to make the next generation of high-performance microprocessors possible.

The project ultimately aims to create novel designs for faster and more energy efficient quantum computers. High school and undergraduate students in physics, materials science and chemistry will also participate in advanced lab courses to learn key research techniques as part of the project.

Sun received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing in 2009 and did postdoctoral research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 2009 to 2011 and at the University of Utah from 2012 to 2014.

This post was originally published in College of Sciences News.