Justin Bergfield
Justin Bergfield joins the faculty this year as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics.
Bergfield earned a master’s degree in experimental condensed matter physics from the University of Oxford in 2007, and a Ph.D. in optical science and physics from the University of Arizona in 2011. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine working with Professor Kieron Burke.
From 2012-2014, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University working with Professor Mark Ratner on a variety of quantum-chemistry related projects. Most recently, he was a research scientist working at the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a molecular electro-optical device.
Bergfield’s research interests center on the nonequilibrium behavior of strongly interacting quantum systems. In particular, he aims to understand and predict the flow of heat, charge, and spin at the nanoscale, with an emphasis novel molecular “clean energy” material development.
Bergfield is the lead author on 14 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been the recipient of a number of awards and fellowships, including the Rolyn Optics Outstanding Teaching Excellence Award, the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship Award, and the Northwestern Nonequilibrium Research Center Fellowship. Bergfield has also been an invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference, the Telluride Science Research Conference, and the American Physical Society’s March Meeting.
In his free time, Justin likes playing vintage video games, cultivating bonsai trees, surfing, woodworking, and spending time with his family.
