News

"Rice University’s Pengcheng Dai recently published a paper in Physical Review X describing the first successful efforts to put a proposed altermagnet material into a single magnetic domain state, allowing the research team to characterize the material’s intrinsic magnetic structure."

"Researchers at Rice University have found that gently squeezing a crystal of iron sulfide can change two of its unusual properties at the same time: its tiny magnetic signal and the way electricity moves through it. The result gives scientists a clearer picture of how a newly recognized class of magnetic materials works and suggests a simple way to control their behavior."

"Leading researchers from around the world gathered in Paris June 9-12 for the 2026 Rice Center for Quantum Materials and Korean Academy of Science and Technology InterAcademy Global Workshop on Quantum Materials Synthesis, a four-day meeting focused on advancing one of the most important frontiers in modern materials research."

"Rice University professor Pengcheng Dai has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest and most prestigious learned societies in the nation.

Professor Dai’s election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences recognizes the profound impact of his work in condensed matter physics,” said Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “His contributions are advancing understanding in his field and exemplify the kind of rigorous, high-impact scholarship that defines Rice. This honor highlights both his leadership as a researcher and the global reach of our faculty’s work.

Dai is being recognized for establishing spin excitations as the unifying experimental signature linking magnetism and superconductivity across unconventional superconductors. His neutron scattering experiments provided decisive evidence connecting magnetic correlations to superconducting pairing in both cuprates and iron-based superconductors."

"Magnetic materials in a quantum spin liquid phase are of great interest in the pursuit of exotic state of matter and quantum computation. But in the quantum realm, things are not always what they seem. A recent study, published in Science Advances and co-led by Rice University’s Pengcheng Dai, found that the material cerium magnesium hexalluminate (CeMgAl11O19) was not actually in a quantum spin liquid phase despite evidence suggesting it was."

"Quantum materials underpin next-generation technologies, from quantum computing to ultra-efficient electronics. To accelerate discovery in these emerging fields, Rice University hosted the 2025 Rice Center for Quantum Materials (RCQM) Winter School on Quantum Materials Synthesis and Workshop on Quantum Geometry Nov. 10-14, bringing together more than 100 researchers, students and scientific leaders from around the world."

"More than 80 scientists from around the world gathered at Rice University for the eQMA Workshop on Hidden Orders and Quantum Entanglement, part of the UNESCO 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology celebration. Hosted by the Extreme Quantum Materials Alliance (eQMA) in collaboration with Rice’s Smalley-Curl Institute, the three-day event Oct. 6-8 featured lectures, discussions and collaborative exchanges among leading theorists and experimentalists in the field."

"Four physicists from Rice University have received a $4.4 million grant over three years from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Rice Laboratory for Emergent Magnetic Materials (RLEMM). This new research center will investigate the fundamental interactions of magnetism and its role in next-generation technologies."

"An international team of scientists led by Rice University’s Pengcheng Dai has confirmed the existence of emergent photons and fractionalized spin excitations in a rare quantum spin liquid. Published in Nature Physics on June 19, their findings identify the crystalline compound cerium zirconium oxide (Ce₂Zr₂O₇) as a clear, 3D realization of this exotic state of matter."

"Led by Pengcheng Dai, the Sam and Helen Worden Professor of Physics and Astronomy, the researchers uncovered the cause behind a vanishing electronic phenomenon in a class of crystalline materials known as kagome lattice, a geometric arrangement of corner-sharing triangles named after a traditional Japanese basket pattern. This discovery reveals how heating methods impact the presence of a charge density wave (CDW), a quantum pattern of electron arrangement, in the kagome metal iron germanide (FeGe). It also demonstrates how its reappearance enhances magnetic and electronic properties."

"Organized by Rice University’s Extreme Quantum Materials Alliance (eQMA) in collaboration with the Smalley-Curl Institute, the eQMA Workshop on Quantum Materials and Entanglement brought together more than 100 experts and attendees from across the globe to discuss cutting-edge advancements in quantum research.

Rice students played an active role in the discussions. Bin Gao, a postdoctoral associate in physics and astronomy, presented on the emergent photons and fractionalized excitations in a quantum spin liquid......"

"The Rice Center for Quantum Materials at Rice University recently hosted the second edition of the Workshop on Quantum Materials Synthesis, an event dedicated to communicating recent developments in the field, identifying new research areas and providing a platform for theorists and experimentalists to come together for discussion and knowledge exchange."