Joseph Checkelsky

About

Professor Joseph Checkelsky is a faculty member in the Department of Physics at MIT, where he joined as an assistant professor in January 2014. He received his B.S. in Physics from Harvey Mudd College in 2004 and his Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton University in 2010. His research focuses on the study of exotic electronic states of matter through the synthesis, measurement, and control of quantum materials. His laboratory investigates correlated behavior in topologically non-trivial materials, the role of geometrical phases in electronic systems, and novel types of geometric frustration. The experimental approach combines techniques from solid state physics, chemistry, and nanoscience, including transport and thermodynamic measurements, crystal growth, and nanoscale device fabrication, aiming to uncover new physical phenomena and potential technological applications. Professor Checkelsky has contributed to the understanding of quantum mechanical condensed matter systems and has been recognized with several awards, including the 2024 American Physical Society Fellowship and the 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Research topics

• Physics
• Condensed matter physics
• Materials science
• Quantum mechanics
• Ecology
• Optoelectronics
• Business
• Nanotechnology

Selected publications

• Topological flat bands in frustrated kagome lattice CoSn.

  Nature Communications · 2020 · 365 citations

  Electronic flat bands in momentum space, arising from strong localization of electrons in real space, are an ideal stage to realize strongly-correlated phenomena. Theoretically, the flat bands can naturally arise in certain geometrically frustrated lattices, often with nontrivial topology if combined with spin-orbit coupling. Here, we report the observation of topological flat bands in frustrated kagome metal CoSn, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and band structure calculations.…

  DOI

• Flat bands, strange metals and the Kondo effect

  Nature Reviews Materials · 2024-02-20 · 113 citations

  review1st author
  PublisherDOI

• Charge order landscape and competition with superconductivity in kagome metals

  Nature Materials · 2022 · 98 citations

  DOI

• Evidence of two-dimensional flat band at the surface of antiferromagnetic kagome metal FeSn

  Nature Communications · 2021 · 71 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  , we observe an anomalous enhancement in tunneling conductance within a finite energy range of FeSn. Our first-principles calculations show this is consistent with a spin-polarized flat band localized at the ferromagnetic kagome layer at the Schottky interface. The spectroscopic capability to characterize the electronic structure of a kagome compound at a thin film heterointerface will provide a unique opportunity to probe flat band induced phenomena in an energy-resolved fashion with simultaneo…

  DOI

• Measurements of the quantum geometric tensor in solids

  Nature Physics · 2024-11-25 · 51 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NSF-BSF: Development and Study of Lattice-Derived Flat Band States

  NSF · $720k · 2021–2026

• CAREER: Geometrical Frustration in Spin Orbit Systems

  NSF · $550k · 2016–2022

Frequent coauthors

• T. Suzuki

  142 shared

• L. Savary

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  134 shared

• Jianpeng Liu

  ShanghaiTech University

  132 shared

• Leon Balents

  Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

  130 shared

• J. W. Lynn

  129 shared

• Efthimios Kaxiras

  Harvard University

  99 shared

• David C. Bell

  Harvard University

  99 shared

• Shiang Fang

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  98 shared

Awards & honors

• 2024 // American Physical Society Fellowship
• 2020-23 // Appointed MItsui Career Development Associate Pro…
• 2019 // Gordon and Betty Moore EPiQS Materials Synthesis Inv…
• 2019 // Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and E…
• 2019 // Army Early Career Award for Science and Engineering…

Similar researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Janet Conradh-205
• Hong Liuh-160
• Isaac Chuangh-90