Newsletter - March 31, 2023

Dear MARVEL'ers,

Please find below our latest newsletter, with highlights and news linked to the MARVEL community.

This month, read about how the temperature dependence of the energy band gap in zirconium pentatelluride adds to evidence that ZrTe5 is a weak topological insulator.

The MARVEL Junior Seminar series — now held in hybrid mode in order to maintain in-person contacts and allow off-campus attendees to follow the seminars remotely — is continuing, with the next installment on April 20. Also mark your calendars for the upcoming MARVEL Distinguished Lectures by Prof. Claudia Felser (May 2) and Prof. Emmanouil Kioupakis (June 20).

Note that the deadline for INSPIRE Potentials fellowships is April 15. You are encouraged to circulate the information, for example with the video made by a former INSPIRE fellow to present the program. Several INSPIRE fellows are also introduced this week as part of the #NCCRWomen campaign, and you can read their interviews.

MARVEL's achievements have been showcased in talks, posters and demos at this week's successful SNSF Site Visit (group picture below). Congratulations to all!

Research highlight

Temperature dependence of energy band gap suggests ZrTe5 is a weak topological insulator

Researchers including NCCR MARVEL’s Professor Ana Akrap at the Department of Physics at the University of Fribourg used Landau-level spectroscopy to determine the temperature dependence of the energy band gap in zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe5). They found that the band gap is non-zero at low temperatures and increases monotonically when the temperature is raised, adding to evidence that ZrTe5 is a weak topological insulator.

Read MARVEL Highlights here.

The MARVEL Junior Seminars - now in hybrid mode!

MARVEL Junior Seminar — April 2023

Apr 20, 2023, from 12:15 until 13:30, Coviz2 (MED 2 1124), EPFL + Zoom

The MARVEL Junior Seminar series is continuing in hybrid mode, in order to maintain in-person contacts and allow off-campus attendees to follow the seminars remotely! The MARVEL Junior Seminars aim to intensify interactions between the MARVEL Junior scientists belonging to different research groups. We are pleased to propose the 51st MARVEL Junior Seminar: Virginie de Mestral (Integrated Systems Lab, ETHZ) and Giovanna Lani (THEOS, EPFL) will present their research. The seminar will be chaired by Alessandro Carbone (THEOS, EPFL).

MARVEL Distinguished Lectures

MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Claudia Felser

May 02, 2023, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

The 34th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Claudia Felser, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Dresden, Germany). She will be presenting a lecture entitled: "Chirality and Topology".

MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Emmanouil Kioupakis

Jun 20, 2023, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom + MED 2 1124 (EPFL)

The 35th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Emmanouil Kioupakis, University of Michigan. He will be presenting a lecture entitled: "Advancing the state of the art in semiconductor technology through predictive atomistic calculations: from uncovering fundamental limitations to discovering new materials."

Several INSPIRE Potentials – MARVEL Master's Fellowships (12'000 CHF) in computational materials science, electronic-structure simulations, machine learning and big-data are available to outstanding women researchers for 6-month stays in research groups belonging to the NCCR MARVEL. In a field of science where women are still strongly underrepresented, the INSPIRE Potentials – MARVEL Master's Fellowships aim to support excellent female students in their Master's thesis projects, while giving them access to outstanding research facilities and environments. Already 42 fellows have been admitted.

The next deadline for submission is 15 April 2023. All the information is available at http://nccr-marvel.ch/inspire.

INSPIRE Potentials fellow Virginie de Mestral outlines highlights of program in video

INSPIRE Potentials fellow Virginie de Mestral, now PhD student in the group of Professor Mathieu Luisier at ETH Zurich, took a moment to explain the appeal of the program that empowers excellent women students to conduct a Master's research project in simulation and modeling in an NCCR MARVEL laboratory. We encourage you to share the video, which is also available on our Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.

Meet former and current INSPIRE Potentials fellows as #NCCRWomen of MARVEL

With this new MARVEL week in the #NCCRWomen campaign, meet former and current MARVEL INSPIRE Potentials fellows and discover their portraits on Twitter and Instagram. After Virginie de Mestral on Monday, Yuri Cho Tuesday, Arianna Cantarella Wednesday and Linda Mauron yesterday, meet today Melika Honarmand. The MARVEL INSPIRE Potentials fellowships empower excellent women students to conduct a Master's research project in simulation and modeling in an NCCR MARVEL laboratory. Next application deadline: 15 April 2023!

EPFL Open Days

EPFL Open Days 2023

Apr 29, 2023, 10:00 until Apr 30, 2023, 17:00, EPFL

In April 2023, EPFL will once again open its doors to a large public of all ages. This is an opportunity for thousands of visitors to discover the secrets of the school through events, animations, meetings, workshops and many other surprises. MARVEL will be part of the adventure.

Follow MARVEL
on Twitter @nccr_marvel
and on LinkedIn