When starting her doctoral program with UNT Physics, Anooja Jayaraj's interests were primarily in experimental condensed matter physics. Her research project started in an experimental group prior to taking two courses on computational solid state physics with Dr. Marco Buongiorno Nardelli; she joined his ERMES group soon after.

"I was impressed with the capabilities that computational methods in conjunction with experimental techniques could offer in terms of materials discovery," she said. "In the ERMES group, we develop and build computational tools that allow for accelerated material discovery. I focus on the electronic transport properties of materials which essentially tells you how electrons would behave in a material when subject to external factors like temperature, electric fields, etc."

Anooja is currently working with a class of materials called thermoelectrics. These materials are capable of converting heat into electricity. "This is exciting because it would allow us to reuse waste heat and therefore these materials could be a source of green energy," she said. "Currently, due to limited efficiency, it has very niche applications. My work aims at studying properties that will increase the efficiency of thermoelectrics, allowing for mainstream applications."

Before enrolling in the doctoral program at UNT, Anooja completed an integrated BS-MS course in Physics at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Mohali. She said she chose to stay at UNT mostly because of her interest in the work done by the ERMES group.

"Dr. Buongiorno Nardelli has definitely played an important part in shaping the scientist that I am today. I have learned most of my 'computational' thinking from him," she said. "Ilaria, Jagoda and Priya, who were all post docs in the lab, were an integral part of my initial training when I was starting out in the group. It is mostly all of their patience and positivity that has helped me stay sane in my research."

"Anooja's personal strengths are as impressive as her intellectual accomplishments," said Dr. Buongiorno Nardelli. "She has worked on an ambitious project that couples advanced computational techniques for electronic structure calculation and materials design with methods to characterize and predict transport properties of complex materials. She has been an outstanding student."

Anooja notes that lab work can be frustrating at times when some problems take longer to solve than the others. "One has to learn to navigate dips and peaks in motivation and productivity and understand that it comes with the territory," she said. But the moments of success outweigh the trials.

"Apart from the obvious joy of seeing experiments validate a theory or graphs that match what you predicted and the numerous skills that you pick up along the way, there is a lot of personal growth involved as well," she said. "One of the most important things I learned at UNT was to operate outside my comfort zone whether it was switching fields, working as a TA or collaborating with new people."

To students just getting started in their own research journey, Anooja offers this advice: "Dive in head first and work in various labs to identify what you are most passionate about. Don't be afraid to ask for help or make mistakes, and the rest will follow."

To learn more about UNT Physics, visit https://physics.unt.edu/