Alessandra Lanzara

Alessandra Lanzara is an Italian-American physicist and the distinguished Charles Kittel Professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley since 2002, where she leads an experimental materials physics group. She is the founding director of Center for Sustainable Innovation at UCB and the co-founder of Quantum Advanced Detection (QUAD) LLC.

Education Lanzara obtained her Laurea in physics (equivalent to an M.S., 1994) and doctorate in Physics and Materials Sciences (1999) from the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy. Lanzara subsequently held a postdoctoral fellowship appointment at Stanford University until 2002. In 2002, Lanzara joined UC Berkeley Physics Department as assistant professor and was promoted associated professor with tenure in 2006. She advanced to Full Professor in 2011.

Research Lanzara is best known for her original contribution to the study of quantum materials such as high temperature superconductors, topological phases of matter and two dimensional materials. Her contributions include the discovery of spin momentum locking and electron-phonon interaction in high-temperature superconductors, symmetry breaking in graphene, and optical control of spin photocurrents in topological materials. She is also known for developing a new synthesis method that has enabled the synthesis of large wafers of graphene and engineering of its bandage, critical for any electronic applications and for the development of a cutting edge instrumentation to image the spin of the electrons with full energy and momentum resolution. Lanzara holds 5 patents in the US and EU and has coauthored more than 200 papers. She founded QUAD, a company that develops and manufactures high efficiency detection systems for manufacturing process control technology.

Awards Lanzara is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2022), of the European Academy of Science (2022) and the American Physical Society (2008). In 2015 she was identified as one of the 'Leading Scientists of the World' by the International biographical center in Cambridge. She has received numerous prizes among which the Fibonacci Prize, 2016 and the Marie Goeppert-Mayer Award of the American Physical Society, 2009 In 2014 Lanzara gave the opening lecture for the Centennial of the Italian Physical Society.

Notable publications

Patents 1. Versatile spin-polarized electron source

Patent N: 9142634, September 22, 2015

Patent N: US2011223094-A1;

C. Jozwiak, C. H. Park, K. Gotlieb, S. G. Louie, Z. Hussain, A. Lanzara

2. Method for Synthesis of high-quality graphene

U.S Patent No. 8142754, March 27, 2012

Patent N: US2011223094-A1; US8142754-B2- Issued March 27, 2012

A. Lanzara, A. K. Schmid, X. Yu, C. Hwang, A. Kohl, C. Jozwiak

3. Time-of-flight electron energy analyzer

U.S Application No. 20130126727, May 23, 2013

Patent N: WO2011019457- A1; US2013126727-A1

C. Jozwiak, Z. Hussain, A. Lanzara, G. V. Lebedev, A. K. Schmid, N. C. Andesen, J. Graf.