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Byron FreelonByron Freelon

Assistant Professor
Department of Physics

Office: Science & Research 1, 419F
Contact: bkfreelon@uh.edu

Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Dr. Byron Freelon’s main research focus is on strongly correlated electrons systems (SCES) and low-dimensional materials. These are classes of solid materials that manifest many interesting physical phases by virtue of an interplay between the electric charge (C), electronic spin (S), atomic orbital (O), and atomic lattice (L) degrees of freedom. Freelon employs neutron and x-ray scattering techniques in order to explore how these quantum degrees of freedom interact to produce some of nature’s most fascinating phase properties, such as high-temperature superconductivity, nematicity, and topological quantum phase behavior. By employing methods based on diffraction as well as resonant scattering, we obtain long- and short-range phase ordering information with the goal of assessing fundamental behaviors of materials.

While his group performs many static scattering studies, they also conduct ultrafast time-resolved scattering measurements designed to disentangle the influence of correlated CSOL parameters. Time-resolved diffraction can be highly complementary to static diffraction. His group is developing time-resolved electron diffraction instruments in his laboratory on campus.

  • Alfred Zong, Xiaozhe Shen, Anshul Kogar, Linda Ye, Carolyn Marks, Debanjan Chowdhury, Timm Rohwer, B. Freelon, Stephen Weathersby, Renkai Li, Jie Yang, Joseph Checkelsky, Xijie Wang, Nuh Gedik, Ultrafast Manipulation of Mirror Domain Walls in a Charge Density Wave, Science Advances, 4, eaau5501 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau5501
  • B. Freelon, Yu Hao Liu, Jeng-Lung Chen, L. Craco, M. S. Laad, S. Leoni, Jiaqi Chen, Li Tao, Hangdong Wang, R. Flauca, Z. Yamani, Minghu Fang and R. J. Birgeneau, Magnetic and Structural Properties of the Iron Oxychalcogenides La2O2Fe2OM2 (M = S, Se) Phys. Rev. B, 99, 024109 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.99.024109
  • A. Zong, A. Kogar, T. Rohwer, C. Lee, E. Baldini, E. Ergecen, M. Yilmaz, B. Freelon, J. Straquadine, dbert Sie, Hengyun Zhou, B. Fine, P. Jarillo-Herrero, Ian Fisher and N. Gedik, Evidence for Topological Defects in a Photoinduced Phase Transition, Nat. Phys. 14, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-018-0311-9
  • L. Craco, B. Freelon, A. M. Alafailakawi, B. Karki, and S. Leoni, Site-selective Electronic Structure of Pure and Doped Ca2O3Fe3S2, Phys. Rev. B 98, 045130 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.045130
  • C. Setty, K. Limtragool, B. Freelon and P. W. Phillips Detecting Isotropic Density and Nematic Fluctuations using Ultrafast Coherent Phonon Spectroscopy, Phys. Rev. B 99, 245157 (2019). https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.99.245157

Honors & Awards

Intel Undergraduate Mentor Award
Stephenson Distinguished Scientist Award, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)

Organizations, Outreach, Boards, Memberships

American Physical Society
National Society of Black Physicists, Member
National Society of Black Physicists, Executive Board, 2012-2016