Kevin Wright

|Associate Professor
Academic Appointments

Associate Professor of Physics

Professor Wright is an experimental physicist who uses ultra-cold atomic gases to study quantum phases of matter, and fermionic superfluids in particular. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Rochester (2009) under Nick Bigelow, studying the transfer of orbital angular momentum from light to a Bose-Einstein condensate of rubidium atoms. He then worked as a research fellow at the Joint Quantum Institute in Maryland with Bill Phillips and Gretchen Campbell, helping to create the first superfluid circuits of ultracold bosonic atoms. Since joining the Dartmouth physics faculty in 2013, he has established a research program aimed at studying ultracold fermionic superfluids in circuit-like configurations.

Contact

603-646-2751
Wilder, Room 245
HB 6127

Department(s)

Physics and Astronomy

Education

  • B.S. Brigham Young University
  • Ph.D. University of Rochester

Selected Publications

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2021 NSF CAREER Award

In 2021 Prof. Wright recieved an NSF CAREER award, providing $750k over 5 years for experimental studies using lithium quantum gases to simulate the behavior of electrons in solid materials, with special focus on how fluctuations, magnetization, and other factors affect resistance to the flow of currents through thin wires made of "quantum materials" like superconductors. The award also supports an integrated educational program aimed at developing more systematic ways of teaching students to "think like a physicist" in advanced lab courses, and improving their critical thinking and quantitiative reasoning skills.