Prof Dan Ralph, Cornell University visits CRANN

 Prof. Dan Ralph from Cornell University travelled to Dublin as part of CRANN’s International Seminar Series 2010. Prof. Ralph is Horace White Professor of Physics at Cornell. His research focuses on the electronic and magnetic properties of nm-scale samples.
 
Ralph’s lecture at CRANN on May 7th highlighted recent progress in experimental techniques to control the orientations of nanoscale magnetic moments and electron spins.  One powerful new capability arises from the fact that thin magnetic layers can act as filters for spins.  During this filtering, spin-polarized currents can transfer some of their spin angular momentum to the magnetic layer, thereby applying a strong torque to the layer. The "spin-transfer torque" provides a very efficient means for manipulating the orientation of small magnets, capable of replacing magnetic fields in many applications. Ralph also discussed his group’s work on extending the control of spins from the 100-nm-scale ferromagnetic devices down to individual electron spins in carbon nanotubes and single molecules.
 
Ralph's presentation is available as a podcast on http://itunes.tcd.ie. Scroll down to "Public Events and Presentations" and double click on the title, CRANN International Seminar.
 
In the afternoon of the 7th, CRANN researchers took the opportunity to discuss their work with Ralph at the poster exhibitions.

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