Uniaxial pressure can be used as a "clean" tuning parameter to smoothly change the atomic spacings and bond angles in a crystal lattice, induce phase transitions, or to break the rotational lattice symmetry and thereby provide access to underlying symmetries such as electron nematic phases. I present experiments (transport, neutron diffraction, ...

Standard transport measurements, focusing on the first moment of the current, are crucial for understanding the behavior of a system as a function of factors such as applied voltage or current, temperature, or external fields. An even more detailed picture may be procured from the second moment of the current, the electronic noise. While the ...

This dissertation describes two-photon photoassociation to the least-bound vibrational level of the X$^1\Sigma_g^+$ electronic ground state of the $^{86}$Sr$_2$ dimer, which represents the first observation of this naturally occurring halo molecule. We measure the binding energy of this state to be $E_b=83.00(7)(20)$\,kHz. Using the precise ...

Soil microorganisms contribute to agricultural productivity by forming symbiosis with plant roots and affecting the solubility of soil nutrients. Microbiological activity in soil can be monitored directly by coupling the expression of a methyl halide transferase (MHT) to a conditional reporter. This unique bioreporter can provide information about ...

Spectroscopy of ⁸⁷Sr Rydberg Atoms and Molecules This dissertation describes the development of an apparatus to undertake spectroscopic studies of ⁸⁷Sr Rydberg states and their application in the production of ultra-long-range Rydberg molecules (ULRRMs). Most previous spectroscopic studies of strontium have been performed with the bosonic isotope ...

Photoluminescent molecules come in many forms from organic molecules to metal complexes to nanomaterials and have a large range of applications as dyes, sensors, catalysts and more. In this thesis three distinct areas will be covered: temperature sensors, nanomaterial antennae, and photooxidation catalysts. Photoluminescent sensors can report on ...

The interaction of light with gold dramatically changes when the size of the gold devices is reduced to the nanoscale. The free electron gas in the metal can collectively oscillate with the electric field of the incident laser in an excitation called plasmons which can result in dramatic enhancements of the local electric field. Electronic transport ...

The worldwide pharmaceutical landscape has witnessed a large influx of biological-based therapeutics, termed ‘biologics’, for the successful treatment of diseases and illnesses. The downstream separation and purification of promising biologics via chromatography dominates the total production cost leading to market entry. A mechanistic examination ...

In conventional metals where the interaction between electrons is weak, the low energy excitations can be well explained by Landau Fermi liquid theory. However, in many metallic materials with bulk d or f-electrons, such as transition metal oxides, conventional theories fail to effectively describe the electronic or spin properties due to the presence ...

Efficient and affordable technologies for early detection of disease are of high priority in modern practice of medicine in order to effectively manage diseases and improve outcomes. The programmable bio-nano-chip (p-BNC) platform is an in-development miniaturized micro-device aimed for broad-scale clinical practice at the point-of-care which utilizes ...