Quantum materials are defined as those with electronic or magnetic properties are best described as having a nontrivial quantum mechanical origin—in other words materials where classical particles or calculations that do not take into account the full character of the system and do not adequately describe the electronic or magnetic properties displayed. Due to the complexity and emergent properties of quantum materials and how they challenge our understanding of the properties of matter, this is an exciting interdisciplinary research field concerned with comprehensive understanding of materials chemistry and condensed-matter physics, thus usually attracts researchers who work at the border between chemistry and physics. Complex transition-metal materials, as an important class of quantum materials, exhibit a wide variety of exotic physical phenomena including collective magnetism, superconductivity, quantum Hall effect, quantum spin liquid and topological insulators, as well as others. This feature of complex transition-metal materials can be attributed to the relatively high electron density and strongly correlated electrons, and the ease with which the strength and sign of these coupling interactions can be modified and tuned by making changes to the cationic/anionic framework of these systems. On the atomic scale, interactions of four fundamental degrees of freedom in these materials—lattice, charge, orbital, and spin—are dynamically intertwined to result in a wide array of often complex electronic states. Since complex transition-metal materials are able to adopt a wide variety of elements and structural motifs, they are fertile ground for finding new quantum materials.
 

Dr. Jin was born and raised in Jiangsu, China before studying abroad in United Kingdom. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with first class honors in 2015, for completing her undergraduate study at the University of Warwick. Then she has undertaken her PhD research in Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory at University of Oxford, supervised by Professor Michael A. Hayward. After being awarded DPhil in Inorganic Chemistry, she moved to United States in 2019 to continue her research. She is currently working as a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University with Prof. Robert J. Cava. Dr. Jin’s research mainly focuses on the design, synthesis and characterization of materials with novel electronic and/or magnetic properties.