Alannah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia. She heads the Quantum Materials Design Lab, which is part of the Blusson Quantum Matter Institute. Before starting her faculty position at UBC in 2019, she completed her PhD in Physics at McMaster University in 2017 and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University. Alannah’s research centers on the design and discovery of new magnetic quantum materials, whose quantum properties she studies using x-rays, neutrons, and muons. One of her overarching interests is disorder and its effect on material's properties. Having worked in both physics and chemistry departments, she is passionate about taking an interdisciplinary approach to the study of quantum materials. Alannah is a Sloan Research Fellow and the co-Director of CIFAR's Quantum Materials Program. When she's not growing crystals or at the beamline, Alannah loves cooking (and eating!), playing bridge, and learning to sail in the waters around beautiful British Columbia.

Contact:  alannah.hallas@ubc.ca  -  604-822-9646  

Dongjoon joined SBQMI in 2022 as a research associate for growing crystals of quantum materials by state-of-the-art floating zone technique. He received his PhD in physics at Yonsei university, via photoemission spectroscopy experiments on high-transition-temperature superconductors. During his postdoctoral period as a JSPS fellow at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan, he carried out in-depth material growth to tailor-make the functionality of novel superconductors. Also, joining an innovative project, he explored new mixed-anion materials by using high-pressure synthesis technique. Then, he moved to Institute for Basic Science in South Korea and led a superconductivity team of center for correlated electron system. Dongjoon has marked milestones in research on cuprates, Fe-based superconductors and 4d transition-metal oxides. He also discovered Copper-Oxy-Telluride family that can be a potential platform of high-thermoelectric materials. Outside of the laboratory, he spends his time with drawing, running, traveling, and having coffee (a.k.a beer) with people.

Contact: dongjoon.song@ubc.ca 

Ashutosh joined the Hallas lab at SBQMI in January 2024 as a postdoctoral research fellow, focusing on developing intermetallic and oxide quantum materials. He earned his PhD in materials science from JNCASR, Bangalore, under the guidance of Prof. Sebastian C. Peter. Throughout his doctoral studies, Ashutosh made significant contributions, uncovering a novel chiral intermetallic, investigating spin glass behavior in rare-earth-based intermetallic, and exploring the causes behind deficiencies in intermetallic compounds. Beyond his academic pursuits, Ashutosh indulges in badminton and table tennis as enjoyable pastimes. Ashutosh is the recipient of the prestigious UBC Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Contact: asing216@mail.ubc.ca 

Samikshya joined the Hallas group as a graduate student in January 2020. Previously she received her BS-MS Dual degree in Physics as a DST-INSPIRE fellow from IISER, Bhopal, India. Her interests include working on designing and characterization of exotic phases of matter like frustrated magnetic systems. Besides physics and crystal growth, she enjoys sketching, playing tennis, occasional cooking, reading novels (mostly fictional), and traveling.

Contact: samikshyas@phas.ubc.ca 

Andree joined the Hallas group as a PhD student in January of 2025. She previously completed her BSc. Physics at UBC and MSc. Physics – Nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo, where she primarily investigated the low frequency 1/f noise in Josephson junctions for superconducting qubit applications. For her PhD, Andree is co-supervised by Prof. Ziliang Ye, who focuses on two-dimensional materials. As such, her project involves the growing of bulk rhombohedral TMDs which will then be exfoliated into 2D devices to investigate sliding ferroelectric switching. In her free time, Andree enjoys dancing, running, cycling, and frequenting coffee shops.

Contact: acos13@student.ubc.ca 

William joined the Hallas group in June 2024 to get a head start to his chemistry M.Sc. jointly supervised by Prof. Sarah Burke. He completed his B.Sc. in chemistry with a minor in mathematics at SFU, conducting research supervised by Prof. Daniel Leznoff. There, he grew and investigated inorganic dithiolate crystals including non-centrosymmetric lead(II) and bismuth(III) complexes as well as emissive platinum(II) materials. William is excited to learn more about x-ray crystallography and crystal growth through his research in new quantum materials. Outside of the lab, William enjoys walking and roaming around, spending time with friends and staying up to date with One Piece.

Contact: who123@chem.ubc.ca 

Ksenia is an undergraduate student studying Physics at UBC. She is currently completing her Honours thesis in the Hallas lab where she is investigating the unconventional thermal expansion in high entropy oxides. Previously, she received an NSERC USRA to work in the Hallas group during the summer of 2024 studying the growth of high entropy oxides and rare earth oxysulfides. She hopes to learn more about the structures of these quantum materials, and how this influences their unique properties. Outside of physics, Ksenia is interested in running, hiking, yoga, and reading fiction.