Women in Physics and Astronomy talk: Laura H. Greene

Laura H. Greene

The National MagLab and Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

President of the American Physical Society, 2017

Superconductors are fascinating quantum materials with applications that include the lossless transmission of electrical power, levitating trains, making huge magnetic fields, and detecting the tiniest magnetic fields. Conventional superconductors were discovered in 1911 but the theoretical explanation did not come until 1957. High temperature superconductors, discovered in 1986, are unconventional and we still don't have complete theories for them; and there are dozens of other types of unconventional superconductors.  After a short overview of the National MagLab, I will define superconductivity and show some bizarre behaviors of those and other quantum materials, including some of my own research. It is amazing what we do know and how much we still have to learn!