Group Members
Interested in joining the Hallas Lab? Please read the Contact page for more details.
Alannah Hallas - Principal Investigator
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 Stewart 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. 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 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar and a Sloan Research Fellow. When she's not growing crystals or at the beam line, Alannah loves cooking (and eating!), playing bridge, and learning to sail in the waters around beautiful British Columbia.
Mohamed Oudah - Research Associate
Mohamed is a research associate for the Disorder as a Design Principle Grand Challenge. Mohamed received the MEXT scholarship to pursue his PhD at Kyoto University working in the group of Yoshi Maeno. During his PhD, he discovered superconductivity in the hole-doped Antiperovskite Oxide Sr3-xSnO and studied the negative ionic state of Sn in this unusual oxide. Mohamed joined SBQMI in 2018 as a postdoc, primarily working with Doug Bonn, and he spent a part of his postdoc at Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart working with the groups of Hide Takagi and Bernhard Keimer. In the early part of his postdoc, he focused on high-pressure synthesis of new topological phases and silver containing compounds. Then his focus shifted towards identifying new topological materials related to the square-net family of compounds. As a research associate, he is working on synthesis of high entropy phases and measuring their properties. Besides research, Mohamed enjoys badminton, swimming, and eating chocolate.
Dongjoon Song - Research Associate
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.
Solveig Stubmo Aamlid - Postdoc
Solveig is an SBQMI postdoctoral fellow for the Disorder as a Design Principle Grand Challenge. Solveig received her PhD in materials science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, working on ferroelectric materials under the guidance of professor Tor Grande. During her PhD work, she spent four months with professor Ulrich Aschauer at the University of Bern to learn more about density functional theory calculations. Solveig is interested in how disorder influences the functional properties of a material, and in the combination of computational and experimental work to study the crystal structure and thermodynamics of new phases. In her free time, she likes to be outdoors for hiking, running, or skiing, but she can also be found in the bouldering gym on a rainy day.
Ashutosh Singh - Postdoc
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.
Samikshya Sahu - PhD Student
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.
Megan Rutherford - PhD Student
Prior to joining the Hallas group in September of 2022, Megan completed her B.Sc. at The University of Winnipeg and her M.Sc. at McMaster University. Her thesis topic was the investigation of frustrated magnetism in mixed B-site pyrochlores. Her current research interests lay in the synthesis and crystal growth of novel quantum materials. In addition to research, Megan enjoys swimming and reading epic fantasy novels.
Mario Ulises González Rivas - PhD Student
Mario joined the Hallas group in 2021 as a PhD student under a QUEST Scholarship from SBQMI. He received his B. Eng. in Nanotechnology from ITESO, and a MSc. in Materials Science from Universidad de Guadalajara, both in Mexico. For his Master’s, he worked in the relationship between the electronic and crystal structures of a rare-earth iron garnet from an experimental and computational point of view. Mario is interested in how controlled amounts of disorder in a crystal structure can lead to unexpected behavior, and enjoys crystal growth. When outside the lab, Mario enjoys playing basketball, photography, and training his dog.
Abraham Arturo Mancilla Sanchez - MSc Student
Before coming to Vancouver, Abraham earned his degree of B. Sc. Engineering Physics in the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico. He then joined the Hallas Group in September 2023 as a master student. Abraham is interested in the properties in crystals grown by the floating zone technique that arise due to their quantum nature, in particular crystals with 214 Ruddlesden-Popper phases, which have previously shown very interesting phenomena. Outside of research, he enjoys dancing, hiking, cooking (for non-survival purposes), and photography.
Valentina Mazzotti - Undergraduate Student
Valentina Mazzotti joined the Hallas Group in the summer of 2023 as a Quantum Pathways student and is currently pursuing a combined undergraduate degree in physics and computer science at UBC. Over the summer, Valentina’s work will involve using an experimental and computational approach, specifically utilizing Density Functional Theory (DFT) combined with Monte Carlo simulations, to characterize deviations from perfect disorder and uncover new functional properties in high-entropy oxides. Her interest in quantum materials goes hand in hand with a passion for sustainability, leading her to envision a future focused on the development and application of quantum materials and technologies to tackle climate science challenges. Besides physics, Valentina is passionate about anything outdoors, especially running, hiking and skiing. She is also a big music fan and enjoys playing the piano.
Helena Cardoso Nunez - Undergraduate Student
Helena is an undergraduate physics student who joined the Hallas group for an 8-month co-op term in May 2024. Her project focuses on the single-crystal growth of high-entropy oxides, particularly cuprates, due to their superconducting properties at high temperatures (i.e. near room temperature). Helena is intrigued by the intersection between physics and chemistry, as well as the quantum properties of materials. Beyond her academic interests, she enjoys ballet dancing, biking, skiing, playing video games, and sports with friends.
Gannon Munro - Undergraduate Student
Gannon joined the Hallas group in May 2024 for an 8-month co-op term, with the goal of growing single crystals of high entropy oxides. Aside from doing this because he’s a fan of minerals, these single crystals are necessary to take certain electrical, magnetic, and thermal measurements. As a chemist, he is excited to learn more about solid state and quantum materials from a physicist’s perspective. He enjoys playing video games and board games with friends, as well as badminton, tennis, and skiing.
Ksenia Khoroshun - Undergraduate Student
Ksenia is an undergraduate student studying Physics at UBC. 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.
Group Alumni
Postdocs:
Dalmau Reig-i-Plessis (2019-2022): Now a postdoc at ETH Zurich
Jannis Maiwald (2022): Now a senior scientist in the Berlinguette group at UBC
Graduate Students:
Dhruv Kush (MSc, 2021-2023): Now a PhD student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne
Graham Johnstone (MSc, 2019-2021): Now a PhD student at the University of Toronto
Undergraduates:
Christine Trinh (Co-op and CHEM 445 RLE, 2023-2024)
Morgan Brand (Co-op, 2023)
Maxim Levi (Summer researcher, 2023)
Isaac Hoffman (PHYS 449 Honour's thesis)
Sam Mugiraneza (Co-op, Quantum Pathways, and CHEM 445 RLE, 2020-2021)
Jocelyn Baker (Quantum Pathways 2022)
Gurleen Sandhu (NSERC USRA 2021)