Physics                                                
City College of New York                                            
2010-present          
Professor

Complex Materials Research                   
IBM T.J. Watson Research Ctr.       
1989 – 2009      
Team Leader & RSM

Semiconductor Sci. & Technology          
IBM T.J. Watson Research Ctr.       
1981 – 1989    
Research Staff Member

Magnetic & Superconducting Systems   
IBM T.J. Watson Research Ctr.        
1979 – 1981       
Postdoctoral Fellow

Low-Temperature Physics                       
New York University                       
1976 – 1979         
Research Assistant                            

Ph.D., New York Univ.

physics of complex nanostructured materials; strong electron correlations; quantum phase transitions; superconductivity  The intellectual and technological challenges of the coming decade rest in great part on our fundamental understanding of complex materials, and on our ability to manipulate nature by exploiting its properties or creating new materials to advance societal needs. At the junction of chemistry, molecular and condensed matter physics, and perhaps biology, electronic structures with new organizing principles, particularly on nanoscale length scales, are the route to fundamentally new behaviors and are potential alternatives to current technologies that require new device concepts.

Understanding this complexity is the unifying theme of my research projects which can be described in two related but distinct parts. One part has to do with the fundamental knowledge of competing quantum (ground) states in strongly correlated systems. My current program aims to compare various aspects of non-Fermi-liquid behavior, particularly related to quantum criticality in a variety of systems, that in addition to high-Tc cuprates include e.g., organic and iron-based pnictide superconductors, through experimental studies of charge transport, and through studies of quantum oscillations  (Shubnikov-de Haas) under high magnetic fields to obtain the key information about the changes and/or reconstruction of the  Fermi surface (FS) as the systems are tuned through the available phase space.

Another part focuses on the unusual phenomena expected in low dimensions by designing and synthesizing complex materials and their nanoarchitectures. The primary aim of the second part is to explore the `uncharted physics territory' in quasi-one-dimensional of complex nanoforms, with close attention paid to the functional (`device') embodiments at the nanoscale.

In the last three years there has been a new explosive development in materials science – the theoretical prediction of a new class of insulators in three dimensions that have a full insulating electronic gap in the bulk, but with exotic metallic two-dimensional states on their surfaces. These topological surface states can carry spin/charge currents that are predicted to be protected against disorder and perturbations. If realized, these systems could be a holy grail in the fields of spintronics and fault-tolerant quantum computing. In reality, these "topological insulators" (TIs) are never truly insulating in the bulk, owing to some sort of `self-doping` vaguely attributed to materials defects. From the point of view of charge conduction and devices, this is a major obstacle in this rapidly growing field.  

In my group at CCNY we have developed a VLS (vapor-liquid-solid) growth/synthesis technique of crystalline nanoplates of a large family of TIs. By using a variety of exfoliation and doping techniques we are presently working on materials' modifications to achieve defect/vacancy and doping control required for fundamental studies, and to obtain a platform for band-gap engineering via device gating needed to examine (and control) the nature of the edge/surface states. We are probing the TI behaviors via electronic and thermal magnetotransport in extreme quantum limit (at high magnetic fields & low temperatures), and we have assembled a strong CCNY interdisciplinary team {Physics (Krusin) - Chemistry (Tamargo, O'Brien) - EE (Shen)} ─ with well established record in complex physical characterization and nanosynthesis respectively. We are presently building up our capabilities further to grow TIs using MBE. This will enable us to built nano-heterostructures with predicted but yet unobserved quantum behaviors.

Through my partnership and strong collaboration (Hone, Millis, Pasuppathy, Kim) with Columbia U. via joint NSF funded MIRT program, my students have access to Columbia's facilities and infrastructure. We are also leveraging my partnership with IBM (Raoux, Jordan-Sweet), where the state-of-the-art infrastructure has been made available to our CCNY team. We are currently interacting through our lively scientific meetings (CCNY weekly and monthly with Columbia), and four CCNY students (including one undergraduate) are involved in various aspects of the project. I see it as an initial stage for a broader effort in complex functional nanostructured materials that, if successful, will have a unique potential for growth in the direction of multilayered and multi-component, and which eventually will include strongly correlated electron systems.

Google Scholar

INNA KORZHOVSKA, LUKAS ZHAO, ZHIYI CHEN, HAIMING DENG, LIMIN HUANG, SIMONE RAOUX, JEAN JORDAN-SWEET, MYRIAM SARACHIK, STEPHEN O'BRIEN, LIA KRUSIN Hole doping of p-type thin topological insulators, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR12/Event/161302, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR12/Event/161302 (2012).
CCNY Authors assigned: INNA KORZHOVSKA, LUKAS ZHAO, ZHIYI CHEN, HAIMING DENG, LIMIN HUANG, MYRIAM SARACHIK, STEPHEN O'BRIEN, LIA KRUSIN


LUKAS ZHAO, ZHIYI CHEN, INNA KORZHOVSKA, HAIMING DENG, SIMONE RAOUX, JEAN JORDANSWEET, MYRIAM SARACHIK, LIA KRUSIN-ELBAUM Ferromagnetism in vanadium doped thin films of a topological insulator Bi2Te3, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR12/Event/162933, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR12/Event/162933 (2012).
CCNY Authors assigned: LUKAS ZHAO, ZHIYI CHEN, INNA KORZHOVSKA, HAIMING DENG, MYRIAM SARACHIK, LIA KRUSIN-ELBAUM


Lin Bo , Lukas Zhao , Limin Huang , Alisa Agafonova , Simon Divilov , Stephen O'Brien , Lia Krusin-Elbaum , Myriam Sarachik Synthesis and electrical characterization of topological insulators Sb2Te3 and Bi2Te3, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR11/Event/136787, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR11/Event/136787 (2011).
CCNY Authors assigned: Lin Bo , Lukas Zhao , Limin Huang , Alisa Agafonova , Simon Divilov, Lia Krusin-Elbaum , Myriam Sarachik


Lukas Zhao , Lin Bo , Limin Huang , Alisa Agafonova , Simon Divilov , Stephen O'Brien , Myriam Sarachik , Lia Krusin-Elbaum Magnetically-doped nanoplate crystals of topological insulators Sb2Te3, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR11/Event/136798, http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR11/Event/136798 (2011).
CCNY Authors assigned: Lukas Zhao , Lin Bo , Limin Huang , Alisa Agafonova , Simon Divilov, Myriam Sarachik , Lia Krusin-Elbaum


S.M. Sze and K.-N. Chen, Taiwan, L. Krusin-Elbaum Phase Change Materials: Research Developments and Device Applications,, Science of Phase-Change Materials, in press (2011).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum New3SC-8, 8th Intl Conf. on New Theories, Discoveries and Applications of Superconductors and Related Materials, Chongqing, China (2011).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum Chair, 7th Intl Workshop on Nanomagnetism & Superconductivity, Comaruga, Spain (2011).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum 13th Intl Workshop on Vortex Matter in Superconductors, 13th Intl Workshop on Vortex Matter in Superconductors, Chicago, IL (2011).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum, T. Shibauchi, Y. Kasahara, R. Okazaki, Y. Matsuda, R.D. McDonald, C.H. Mielke, and M. Hasegawa 'Quantum critical point and its downslide with magnetic fields in overdoped cuprates as seen via interlayer transport, Phys. Rev. B, 82, 144530 (2010). (2010).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum, D. Shakhvorostov, C. Cabral, Jr., S. Raoux, and J. L. Jordan-Sweet Irreversible denaturing of crystalline phase of phase-change Ge-Sb thin films, materials, Appl. Phys Lett, , 96, 121906 (2010). (2010).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum Colloquium, , Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Orsay, France, May 19, 2010 (2010).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum Colloquium, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France May 18, 2010 (2010).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum

L. Krusin-Elbaum Session, symposium Chair, 6th Intl Workshops on Nanomagnetism & Superconductivity, Comaruga, Spain, July 2010 (2010).
CCNY Authors assigned: l. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum :"High-density low-power nanowire phase-change material memory device", U.S. Patent (filed 1/8/2010), docket #YOR920090397US1 (2010).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


D. Shakhvorostov, R. A. Nistor, L. Krusin-Elbaum, G. J. Martyna, D. M. Newns, B. G. Elmegreen, X.-H. Liu, Z. E. Hughes, S. Paul , C. Cabral, S. Raoux, D. B. Shrekenhamer, D. N. Basov, Y. Song, and M.H. Muser Evidence for electronic gap-driven metal-semiconductor transition in phase-change materials, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 106, 10907 (2009). (2009).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


S. Raoux, C. Cabral, Jr., L. Krusin-Elbaum, J. L. Jordan-Sweet, M. Salinga, A. Madan, and T. L. Pinto Phase transitions in Ge-Sb phase change materials,, J. Appl. Phys.,, 105, 064918 (2009). (2009).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum Session, symposium chair, 5th Intl Workshops on Nanomagnetism & Superconductivity, Comaruga, Spain, July 2009 (2009).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum Session, symposium chair, 5th Intl Workshops on Nanomagnetism & Superconductivity, Comaruga, Spain, July 2009 (2009).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum The University of Tokyo Symposium, 12th International Workshop on Vortex Matter in Superconductors, , Lake Yamanaka, Japan, September 2009 (2009).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum Coupling piezoelectric material generated stresses to devices formed in integrated circuits, U.S. Patent (filed 12/04/2009), docket #YOR920090359US1 (2009).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


. Shibauchi, L. Krusin-Elbaum, M. Hasegawa, Y. Kasahara, R. Okazaki, and Y. Matsuda Field-induced quantum critical route to a Fermi liquid in high-temperature superconductors, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105, 7120 (2008). (2008).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


T. Shibauchi, L. Krusin-Elbaum, and Y. Matsuda Evidence against orbital origin of quantum criticality in Tl2Ba2CuO6+x superconductor, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105, E59 (2008). (2008).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


C. Cabral, Jr., L. Krusin-Elbaum, J. Bruley, S. Raoux, V. Deline, A. Madan, and T. Pinto Direct evidence for abrupt postcrystallization germanium precipitation in thin phase-change films of Sb–15 at.% Ge, Appl. Phys. Lett., 93, 071906 (2008). (2008).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum 25th International Conference on Low Temperature Physics (LT25),, 25th International Conference on Low Temperature Physics (LT25),, August, 2008 (2008).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum, C. Cabral Jr., K.N. Chen, M. Copel, D.W. Abraham, K. B. Reuter, S.M. Rossnagel, J. Bruley, and V.R. Deline Evidence for segregation of Te in chalcogenide Ge2Sb2Te5 films: Effect on the `phase-change' stress, Appl. Phys. Lett., 90, 1 (2007). (2007).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


T. Kawakami, T. Shibauchi, Y. Terao, M. Suzuki, and L. Krusin-Elbaum Evidence for `universal' signatures of Zeeman-splitting-limited pseudogaps in superconducting electron- and hole-doped cuprates, Phys. Rev. Lett., 95, 017001 (2005). (2005).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum, D.M. Newns, H. Zeng, V. Derycke, and R. Sandstrom Room-temperature Ferromagnetic Nanotubes Controlled by Electron or Hole Doping, Nature, 431, 672 (2004). (2004).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum, T. Shibauchi, and B. Argyle Runaway "Fingerlike" Instability of Magnetic Walls in Ultrathin Layers, Phys. Rev. Lett, 93, 197201 (2004). (2004).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum, T. Shibauchi, and C. H. Mielke ] Null Orbital Frustration at the Pseudogap Boundary in a Layered Cuprate Superconductor, Phys. Rev. Lett, 92, 097005 (2004). (2004).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


, T. Shibauchi, L. Krusin-Elbaum, G. Blatter, and C. H. Mielke Unconventionally Large Quantum-dissipative Gap Regime in Overdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y, Phys. Rev. B, 67, 064514 (2003). (2003).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


T. Shibauchi, L. Krusin-Elbaum, Ming Li, M.P. Maley, and P.H. Kes "Closing the Pseudogap by Zeeman Splitting in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y at High Magnetic Fields", Phys. Rev. Lett, 86, 5763 (2001). (2001).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


L. Krusin-Elbaum, T. Shibauchi, B. Argyle, L. Gignac and D. Weller Stable Ultra-High Density Magneto-Optical Recordings Using Introduced Linear Defects, Nature, 410, 444 (2001). (2001).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


T. Shibauchi, L. Krusin-Elbaum, V.M. Vinokur, B. Argyle, D. Weller and B.D. Terris Deroughening of a 1D Domain Wall in an Ultrathin Magnetic Film by a Correlated Defect, Phys. Rev. Lett., 87, 267201 (2001). (2001).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum


T. Turn-Albrecht, J. Schötter, G.A. Kästle, N. Emley, T. Shibauchi, L. Krusin-Elbaum, K. Guarini, C.T. Black, M.T. Tuominen, and T.P. Russell Ultrahigh-density Nanowire Arrays Grown in Self-assembled Diblock Copolymer Templates, Science, 290, 2126 (2000) (2000).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum

N. Morozov, L. Krusin-Elbaum, T. Shibauchi, L.N. Bulaevskii, M.P. Maley, Yu.I. Latyshev, and T. Yamashita High-Field Quasiparticle Tunneling in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y : Negative Magnetoresistance in the Superconducting State, Phys. Rev. Lett., 84, 1784 (2000) (2000).
CCNY Authors assigned: L. Krusin-Elbaum

    Two IBM Invention Achievement Awards in 2010

″    Eight IBM Invention Achievement Awards (2007- 1988)