Dr.Christianne Beekman

Dr. Beekman received her Master's Degree in Physics from Leiden University in the Netherlands in 2005 and her Doctorate Degree in Physics from the same university in 2010. Since 2010, she worked at the University of Toronto and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Postdoctoral Researcher. Dr. Beekman joined the Physics Faculty of FSU in 2014.

Complex oxides are one of the most widely studied classes of materials often composed of many elements (including transition metals), which usually results in complex lattice structures. The interplay between many competing interactions involving spin, charge, orbital and lattice degrees of freedom results in the many remarkable physical properties of complex oxides. Due to the closeness in energy of these interactions only small perturbations are required to dramaticaly change the physical properties of these compounds. Hence, these materials provide an excellent basis for current and future (applied) research in a number of exciting areas, such as multiferroics, magneto-optics, data storage devices and solid oxide fuel cells. An example of a perturbation that is often used is epitaxial strain, i.e. intentional lattice mismatch between a thin film and the substrate that it is grown on. Recent studies have shown that the application of epitaxial strain can control and/or enhance a variety of scientifically and technologically important properties such as magnetoresistance, ferroelectricity and multiferroicity. Dr. Beekman is setting up a state-of-the-art thin film growth and characterization laboratory at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory, exploiting the many interactions in complex oxides to find new ways to control their properties using external perturbations (such as strain, electric fields and optical excitation). This will lead to new insights into a broad range of fundamental physical properties as well as advancements in developing novel heterostructure devices."