I'm not allowed to boil a kettle in my office; the electricity is public money. This rule can be justified in a sentence. Most of what lands on my desk has never had to be. New post on unnecessary bureaucracy. academicrenewal.substack.com/p/the-one-wa...

The one-way audit

Researchers are required to account for their time and money. Administrative procedures rarely include any account of the research time they consume.

academicrenewal.substack.com

Remarkable!! Would you peer review in 4 days if you got paid ~$300? “Paying reviewers … led to faster first editorial decisions — an average of 5.5 working days, down from nearly 38 for unpaid reviews”

Nature@nature.com · last mo.

A biology journal trialled paying their reviewers and found it led to faster first editorial decisions – and increased review quality. go.nature.com/446SaLu

Their journey was much shorter and ended much better than the journey a typical paper goes through before getting published

When you agree to serve in a committee

Tha'ts what scientists want too. We need AI that makes sure you don't break the dishes (or centrifuge)

made by a friend of a colleague. iykyk

Honored and grateful to be named on the @clarivateag.bsky.social #HighlyCited2025list. Big thank you to students, postdocs and collaborators as well as everybody who cited our papers and supported our work!

Clarivate for Academia & Government@clarivateag.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Today we announce the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list—celebrating 6,868 individuals from over 1,300 institutions across 60 countries. #HighlyCited2025 Read the full press release: clarivate.com/news/clariva...

We have published a new paper in @natnano.nature.com by @EdoardoLopriore @FedeleTagarelli et al. We have integrated vdW heterostructures hosting interlayer excitons with a monolithic Fabry–Perot cavity. @EPFLEngineering @materials-epfl.bsky.social

New paper online: Enhancing interlayer exciton dynamics by coupling with monolithic cavities via the field-induced Stark effect. #OpticalMaterials #2DMaterials #ExcitonicDevices www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Enhancing interlayer exciton dynamics by coupling with monolithic cavities via the field-induced Stark effect - Nature Nanotechnology

This work advances excitonic optoelectronics by demonstrating electrically tunable cavity coupling of interlayer excitons in a van der Waals heterobilayer. Through electrostatic control, a 5-fold incr...

nature.com

🔬✈️ With funding from the SNSF, researchers can gain experience formative for their careers. The Postdoc.Mobility 🧳🌍 scheme is allocating a total of 24.8 million Swiss francs to support 200 postdocs either to carry out a research project abroad or to return to Switzerland. ➡️https://buff.ly/sLWClEO

Mobility grants for 200 postdocs

The SNSF is allocating a total of CHF 24.8 million to enable 200 researchers to carry out a stay abroad or to return to Switzerland.

buff.ly

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Malik et al. show that vacancy formation energies act as a reliable descriptor for MXene exfoliation, enabling prediction of 7 new stable MXenes and highlighting the need for non-HF etchants at higher pH. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Vacancy formation energy as a descriptor of the exfoliability of MAX phases to MXenes

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Vacancy formation energy as a descriptor of the exfoliability of MAX phases to MXenes

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Bark et al. uncover a higher-order topological phase in hexagonal honeycomb-kagome lattices via Γ-point band inversion, enabling tunable network bands in twisted or mismatched moiré heterostructures. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Stacking-dependent topological electronic structures in honeycomb-kagome heterolayers

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Stacking-dependent topological electronic structures in honeycomb-kagome heterolayers

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Jawa et al. show using TCAD simulations that Schottky barrier heights in TMD FETs appear lower than they are due to trap-induced artifacts in standard extraction. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Interface trap states induced underestimation of Schottky barrier height in metal-MX2 junctions

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Interface trap states induced underestimation of Schottky barrier height in metal-MX2 junctions

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Li et al. built quasi-2D Ga₂O₃ UV photodetectors using a liquid metal printing method with a 1.2 μs response, rivaling commercial technology. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Printing ultrathin Quasi-2D Ga2O3 for fast yet highly responsive vertical photodetectors

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Printing ultrathin Quasi-2D Ga2O3 for fast yet highly responsive vertical photodetectors

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Oluwole et al. report a combustion reaction of GO and amino acids, resulting in highly graphitized, N-doped graphene inks—printable on plastic to make chipless RFID tags readable at 3.986 GHz from 28 mm. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Low-temperature graphitization by amine-assisted combustion of graphite oxide

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Low-temperature graphitization by amine-assisted combustion of graphite oxide

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Majchrzak et al. show that MPS₃ heterostructures have tunable electronic states and catalytic potential; MnPS₃/NiPS₃ pairing offers ideal band alignment for efficient, pH-flexible water splitting. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Experimental and theoretical band alignment study of MPS3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) for designing tailored 2D heterostructures

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Experimental and theoretical band alignment study of MPS3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) for designing tailored 2D heterostructures

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Shakir et al. show that placing a metal in van der Waals contact with a TMDC monolayer enhances photoluminescence by up to 100× by suppressing exciton-exciton annihilation through strong Coulomb screening. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Photoluminescence enhancement in two-dimensional semiconductors via spacer-free metallic screening

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Photoluminescence enhancement in two-dimensional semiconductors via spacer-free metallic screening

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Gill et al. use ultrafast light pulses to generate pure spin and valley currents—without charge flow—in 2D materials like WSe₂ and bilayer graphene, opening paths to next-gen spin/valleytronics. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Ultrafast all-optical generation of pure spin and valley currents

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Ultrafast all-optical generation of pure spin and valley currents

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Lee et al. show that Van der Waals stacking adds symmetry control over Dirac surface states, enabling tunable spin textures and magnetic responses—key for topological quantum and spintronic device design. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Manipulation of Dirac states in polymorphic and dual topological insulating phases of van der Waals systems

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Manipulation of Dirac states in polymorphic and dual topological insulating phases of van der Waals systems

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Solomon et al. show growth of 2D Ruddlesden-Popper metal halides by pulsed laser deposition. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Oriented 2D Ruddlesden-Popper metal halides by pulsed laser deposition

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Oriented 2D Ruddlesden-Popper metal halides by pulsed laser deposition

nature.com

🚀 Our lab website is live! → emergelab.rice.edu The Emerge Lab @RiceUniversity will explore emerging materials & nanoelectronics to advance computing, communication & sensing. 🔬 PhD positions opening soon—stay tuned! #Nanoelectronics #MaterialsScience #RiceUniversity

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Ge et al. propose bilayer graphene–WSe₂ quantum dots for quantum computing with simulations revealing fast picosecond operation and a 100× SOC boost. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Ab initio simulation of spin-charge qubits based on bilayer graphene-WSe2 quantum dots

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Ab initio simulation of spin-charge qubits based on bilayer graphene-WSe2 quantum dots

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Simonian et al. find that TlGaSe₂ thin films show enhanced thermoelectric performance thanks to stacking faults—once considered defects, they're now a feature. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Elucidating the role of stacking faults in TlGaSe2 on its thermoelectric properties

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Elucidating the role of stacking faults in TlGaSe2 on its thermoelectric properties

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Lee et al. show that under pressure, CrSiTe₃ becomes metallic, triples its TC, and shows a dome-like Hall effect—evidence of Berry curvature from topological bands. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Pressure-induced large anomalous Hall effects in a layered ferromagnet CrSiTe3

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Pressure-induced large anomalous Hall effects in a layered ferromagnet CrSiTe3

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Erhardt et al. in a first-principles study map the full superconducting dome in doped MoS₂, showing that Tc rises then falls due to CDWs, polarons, and an H-to-1T′ phase shift—reconciling conflicting experiments. www.nature.com/artic... 🧪

Understanding the origin of superconducting dome in electron-doped MoS2 monolayer

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Understanding the origin of superconducting dome in electron-doped MoS2 monolayer

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Agarwal et al. show that topological polarization textures in twisted vdW bilayers produce distinctive nonlinear optical responses, enabling their optical detection via vortex-like shift photocurrents. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Shift photocurrent vortices from topological polarization textures

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Shift photocurrent vortices from topological polarization textures

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Abuthahir et al. have developed MXene composites for electrochemical SMX detection, achieving high sensitivity, low LOD, and <3% RSD—ideal for real-time water quality monitoring with biomaterial potential. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Electrochemical detection of sulfamethoxazole antibiotics in water using MXene/ZIF-8 composite modified glassy carbon electrode

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Electrochemical detection of sulfamethoxazole antibiotics in water using MXene/ZIF-8 composite modified glassy carbon electrode

nature.com

New in #npj2dmaterials @natureportfolio.bsky.social: Völkel et al. show that h-BN memristors with nickel electrodes show strong resistive switching in air, but not in vacuum—simulations reveal water’s critical role in device behavior and forming process. www.nature.com/artic... #2dmaterials 🧪

Influence of humidity on the resistive switching of hexagonal boron nitride-based memristors

npj 2D Materials and Applications - Influence of humidity on the resistive switching of hexagonal boron nitride-based memristors

nature.com

Zhou et al. screen 426 2D monolayers with spin-orbit coupling and reveal standout spin Hall materials like Ta₄Se₂ and Y₂C₂I₂, offering routes to efficient, low-power spintronic technologies. www.nature.com/artic...

High-throughput calculations of spin Hall conductivity in non-magnetic 2D materials

npj 2D Materials and Applications - High-throughput calculations of spin Hall conductivity in non-magnetic 2D materials

nature.com