Brandon Wilfong
Postdoctoral Researcher
Johns Hopkins University, Department of Chemistry
Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy
San Martin Dr, Baltimore, MD 21210
email : bwilfon3@jhu.edu
Bio
I was born and raised in northern Maryland and played soccer at Washington College while studying chemistry and mathematics. I completed my doctoral work at the University of Maryland through the Chemical Physics program under the guidance of Dr. Efrain E. Rodriguez and Dr. Johnpierre Paglione. I completed a two-year position as an assistant research professor at the United States Naval Academy working with Dr. Michelle E. Jamer working on research as well as an teaching undergraduate physics course. I am currently a postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University working with Dr. Tyrel M. McQueen on synthesis and characterization of quantum materials. When I am not in the lab or behind a computer, I spend most of my time trail running, backpacking, and camping with my dogs and gardening at home. Always free to chat about running, soccer and research.
Latest Publication
Physical properties and electronic structure of single-crystal KCo2As2
We present a method for producing high quality KCo2As2 crystals, stable in air and suitable for a variety of measurements. X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, electrical transport, and heat capacity measurements confirm the high quality and an absence of long range magnetic order down to at least 2 K. Residual resistivity values approaching 0.25 μΩ cm are representative of the high quality and low impurity scattering, and a Sommerfeld coefficient γ=7.3 mJ/mol K2 signifies weaker correlations than the Fe-based counterparts. Together with Hall effect measurements, angle-resolved photoemission experiments reveal a Fermi surface consisting of electron pockets at the center and corner of the Brillouin zone, in line with theoretical predictions and in contrast to the mixed carrier types of other pnictides with the ThCr2Si2 structure. A large, linear magnetoresistance of 200% at 14 T, together with an observed linear and hyperbolic, rather than parabolic, band dispersions are unusual characteristics of this compound.