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Dr. Jia “Leo” Li is an Associate Professor of Physics at Brown University. He completed his undergraduate studies at Tsinghua University in China, and he received his MS and PhD degrees in Physics from Northwestern University. Afterwards, Leo worked as a postdoctoral researcher in physics at Columbia University before joining the faculty at Brown University where he is today. He has been the recipient of a Sloan Research Fellowship, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and Brown University’s Salamon Faculty Award for excellence in scholarly work. In our interview, Leo shares more about his life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:18)
In his free time, Leo enjoys rock climbing and trail running. Running is a great way to clear his mind when he is frustrated from a failed experiment or stuck on a particular equation. He finds parallels between finding solutions to physics problems and identifying the perfect running or climbing routes.
The Scientific Side (3:09)
Leo stacks different layers of two-dimensional (2D) material together to discover new electronic properties that could revolutionize future technology, including the next generation of computers and electronics.
A Dose of Motivation (4:06)
“In nature’s book of secrecy, a little I can read.” – Michael Faraday
What Got You Hooked on Science? (6:28)
As early as middle school, Leo was already getting interested in physics. He found physics to be calming and something that he wanted to continue to explore even outside of school. Leo chose to major in physics in college, and he pursued graduate studies afterwards. In his PhD work, Leo examined superfluid helium-3 using a post-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. After graduating, he decided to pivot his research focus, accepting a postdoctoral fellowship where he gained experience working with 2D materials. As a postdoc beginning to search for faculty jobs, he had some doubts about whether he would be able to succeed in academia. Leo considered transitioning over to working in a national laboratory or in industry, but he ultimately persevered on the research path. The work he did as a postdoc then led to the research that his lab conducts today developing new measurement techniques and exploring electronic behavior in different structures with layered 2D materials.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (14:01)
In his third year of graduate school, Leo was running an experiment using an apparatus called a dilution refrigerator that could cool samples to extremely low temperatures. This apparatus was critical for the success of his experiment. However, the dilution refrigerator began leaking its contents whenever it approached the low temperatures that Leo needed his samples to achieve. The leak made it impossible to do his experiments. Also, because the leak only happened at very low temperatures, he couldn’t do leak checks on different components at room temperature. As a graduate student with relatively little experience with these kinds of problems, this was an enormous and frustrating challenge. However, his adviser provided a lot of guidance through this difficult time, and they did a lot of troubleshooting together. After painstakingly taking apart the dilution refrigerator piece by piece and systematically testing each component for leaks at low temperatures, they were able to fix it. It took about six months of hard work, but he finally got to do the really exciting experiments he had planned.
A Shining Success! (16:45)
One of the most rewarding experiences is seeing students become confident scientists in the lab. After encountering challenges, learning from their failures, troubleshooting issues, and mastering complex techniques, his trainees transform from novice researchers to independently designing experiments, carrying out projects, and mentoring others. For Leo, it is meaningful to know that these students will carry the skills they learn in his lab forward to address tomorrow’s big research challenges. Leo works closely with the students in his lab when they have exciting projects and findings, and they recently discovered a new class of particles called fractional excitons that could unlock new questions in the research field of quantum physics.
Book Recommendations (19:29)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Most Treasured Travel (20:47)
Leo has had many opportunities to travel to the National High Magnetic Field Lab (MagLab) in Tallahassee, Florida, to do experiments. To make new discoveries, Leo and his team need access to facilities with a really high magnetic field, and he was a postdoc when he made his first trip to the Tallahassee MagLab. The lab is in a huge building that features large magnets powered by electricity and high towers with water for cooling. The staff provide tours for the public, so you can see all the different types of magnets and learn about the kinds of discoveries that are being made there. Since his first visit, Leo has been there many times, and the MagLab was the setting for their recent discovery of fractional excitons. They typically reserve a week of time to do their experiments, and they pack in as much data collection as possible during that time, usually staying in the lab until after midnight. These trips are a fantastic experience for training students and bonding with lab members.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (24:51)
When he started graduate school, Leo and his roommate decided to adopt a cat. They named the cat Dexter, and later, Leo’s roommate made them each a t-shirt with a picture of Dexter on the front. The shirts came out great, and they got a photo of the two of them together in the lab wearing their cat shirts. Several years after Leo and his roommate graduated, the lab turned the picture of the two of them wearing their cat t-shirts into a new t-shirt and took a group photo. This got a lot of laughs, but then it got even more elaborate when Leo and his roommate returned to Northwestern to celebrate their advisor’s retirement. They and their partners decided to pose for another photo in the lab, with their partners wearing t-shirts with a picture of the lab members wearing t-shirts with the picture of Leo and his roommate in their cat t-shirts. They added yet another layer to the running joke at Leo’s wedding when his wife surprised everyone from the lab who was there with t-shirts featuring the latest photo in the chain. Leo’s advisor liked the shirt so much that he took three of them home.
Advice For Us All (28:20)
Take on hard challenges, but be patient with yourself through the process because progress isn’t linear (in life or science). Stay curious, resilient, and motivated. Science needs both creativity and perseverance. You are always learning new things, even from your failed experiments. Be sure to find collaborators and mentors who share your enthusiasm because science is a community effort.
Guest Bio
Leo’s research centers on experimental investigation of emergent quantum phases of matter in two-dimensional electrons, including bosonic superfluid, electronic superconductor, orbital magnetism, and states with nontrivial topological orders. Most recently, he has focused on the characterization and identification of excitons in the fractional quantum Hall effect regime. As part of this work, his group has observed excitons with fractionally charged constituents, giving rise to neutral particles that obey fermionic and anyonic quantum statistics. Outside the lab, Leo enjoys rock climbing, training for half-marathons, and spending quality time with his family. He also cares for 6 pets — cats and dogs — which means there is never a dull moment and plenty of cleanup duties.
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