Luis Balicas

1995 - Doctorat (PhD) de l'Universite Paris XI-Orsay. Mention Physique des Solides
1992 - DEA de Physique des Solides (Master in Solid State Physics), Ecole Doctorale de Physique de la Region Parisienne, Paris.
1991- Licenciatura en Fisica (License oriented towards Solid State Physics), UCV.

Our broad research program is oriented towards studying properties of novel materials and devices, with a particular emphasis in understanding the organizational principles leading to novel states of matter.

We are particularly interested in physical phenomena whose understanding is intellectually challenging but which could have an enormous economical impact if observed at room temperature, such as high temperature superconductivity (funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences - Department of Energy) and/or multiferroiticity.

The observation of Dirac Fermions in Graphene (leading to the 2010 Nobel prize in Physics) and more recently of Dirac magnetic monopoles in dipolar spin-ices, demonstrates that fundamental physical concepts/entities normally associated with high energy physics, can also be effectively studied in matter when in its solid state. We are actively engaged in these beautiful fields of research.

Other major areas of research within our group include novel and unconventional magnetic states of matter such as Bose-Einstein condensates of spin degrees of freedom, or the fluctuating ground states of geometrically frustrated magnetic systems, or the so-called spin-liquids.

A student working in our group is expected to learn a broad array of experimental techniques, ranging from sample synthesis, to high magnetic field experimentation to spectroscopic techniques such as neutron and x-ray scattering or nuclear magnetic resonance. She/he is also expected to be involved in active collaborations with both theorists and experimentalists belonging either to the NHMFL or to external/international institutions, and in this way define her/his own research path based on personal interests.

2009 - Visiting Professor, Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo
2009 - Scholar/Scientist, National High Magnetic Field Lab - FSU
2004 - Associate Scholar/Scientist, National High Magnetic Field Lab - FSU
2001 - Assistant Scholar/Scientist, National High Magnetic Field Lab - FSU
1999 - Visiting Scientist, National High Magnetic Field Lab - FSU
1996 - Junior Researcher- Low Temperature Lab, Physics Center, IVIC
1996 - Postdoctoral Position at the High Pressure Group, Solid State Physics Lab, Orsay-France

American Physical Society outstanding Referee (2024)

Reviewer for the German Research Foundation (2023-present)

Reviewer for the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (2023-present)

Participant in the NSF workshop Materials Laboratories of the Future: Instrumentation and Infrastructure to Accelerate the Unification of the Materials Innovation Infrastructure (2022)

Referee for the Swiss National Science Foundation (2022)

Referee/Panelist, Division of Materials Research, National Science Foundation (2022)

Referee/Panelist- National Science Foundation - Division of Materials Research (2021)

Divisional Associate Editor for Physical Review Letters (2020-2023)

Research Professor - Physics Department - Florida State University (2017-present)

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016-present)

Referee - Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France) on behalf of EU - Graphene Flagship Program (2015)

Referee- National Science Foundation - Division of Materials Research (2015)

FSU Distinguished University Scholar (2014)

Referee - Florida State University - Council on Research and Creativity (2014-present)

Referee/Panelist - National Science Foundation - Division of Materials Research (2014)

American Physical Society Fellow (2012)

Referee - Army Research Office (2012-Present)

Referee/Panelist - National Science Foundation - Division of Engineering (2012)

Referee - Department of Energy - Basic Energy Sciences (2010-present)