Bill Gannon - Univeristy of Kentucky

Wednesday Sep 9, 2026, 9:00 AM → 8:15 PM US/Eastern

IAMM

William Gannon is an experimental condensed matter physicist specializing in correlated electron materials, quantum and low-dimensional magnetism, and quantum phase transitions. His research combines crystal growth and neutron scattering to investigate the complex behavior of quantum materials.

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9:00 AM → 10:00 AM Research Meeting

Speaker: Prof. Adrian Del Maestro (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

10:00 AM → 10:20 AM Talk Prep

10:20 AM → 11:20 AM Neutron Diffraction and Magnetotransport Studies of the Candidate Weyl Semimetal CeGaGe

The RXZ (R = rare-earth, X = Al or Ga, Z = Si or Ge) family of materials is thought to crystallize with symmetry described by the noncentrosymmetric I4₁md space group. The band structure of many members predicts Weyl semimetal behavior with topologically protected surface states. When the rare-earth ions carry a magnetic moment, these materials can also exhibit magnetic order, allowing Weyl states above the ordering temperature and enabling studies of the interplay between Weyl quasiparticles and magnetic excitations below it [1, for example]. The compound CeGaGe belongs to this family. Depending on crystal growth conditions, we find that samples can undergo a subtle structural transition to another noncentrosymmetric structure, with symmetry described by space group P4₁, at temperatures above about 100 K [2]. Regardless of low-temperature structure, all samples show a clear transition to a magnetically ordered state at Tc = 5.5 K [2,3]. I will present neutron diffraction results characterizing the crystal and magnetic structures of CeGaGe with varying stoichiometry, along with magnetotransport measurements that may reflect the topological nature of its electronic states.

[1] G. Chang et al, Phys. Rev. B 97, 041104 (2018).
[2] L. Scanlon et al., Phys. Rev. B 111, 184102 (2025)
[3] D. Ram,  et al, Phys. Rev. B 108, 024428 (2023).

11:30 AM → 12:00 PM Research Meeting

Speaker: Jian Liu (University of Tennessee)

12:00 PM → 2:00 PM Lunch

• Adrian Del Maestro
• Jian Liu

2:00 PM → 2:30 PM Research Meeting

Speaker: Yishu Wang (University of Tennessee Knoxville)

2:30 PM → 3:00 PM Research Meeting

Speaker: Joon Sue Lee (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

3:00 PM → 3:30 PM Research Meeting

Speaker: Hatem Barghathi (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

3:30 PM → 4:00 PM Research Meeting

Speaker: Wonhee Ko (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

4:00 PM → 4:30 PM Research meeting

Speaker: Jonathan D'Emidio

4:30 PM → 5:00 PM Research Meeting

https://tennessee.zoom.us/j/89841955187?pwd=uMbu5zumknSxoVqsSD7qw8jjA1Glaf.1

Speaker: Rahul Soni (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)

5:30 PM → 7:00 PM Dinner

• Adrian Del Maestro