Physics Faculty at SUNY Plattsburgh - Dr. Ken Podolak

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Physics Faculty - Dr. Ken Podolak

Assistant Professor

Education

• Ph.D. in Physics, Dilute Ferromagnetism, Penn State, 2008
• M.Ed., Pedagogy in Algebra-Based Physics, Penn State, 2005
• B.S. in Physics, High Honors, Rochester Institute of Technology, 2002

Teaching Areas

• Introductory Physics
• Modern Physics
• Intermediate Laboratory
• Solid State Physics

Professional Appointments

• Assistant Professor of Physics, SUNY Plattsburgh, 2008-present

Research Areas

My research is in nanomagetism. The magnetization of the sample may be switched from one orientation to another that could be used as a storage device in binary code format. This area of research has recently received a lot of notoriety due to the Nobel Prize in Physics awarded based on the GMR effect (2008).

Most of my work is in magnetic alloys, and how to control the magnetic properties by changing the concentrations of the elements in the alloy. For example, combining just two magnetic elements, Ni and Fe in different ways, you can get a variety of different properties. Invar, which is composed of 65% iron in nickel, is often of interest due to its low thermal coefficient. The magnetic properties of permalloy make it a good choice for magnetic devices like computer hard drive reading heads. Magnetic circular dichroism at synchrotron facilities can be used to further analyze how the magnetism changes in each type of metal.

Student Research Projects

Students may have an opportunity to work in many facets of physics research with me. I am open to ideas, however here are some of my suggestions:

1. Growth of magnetic materials through electrodepositon. Characterization of these materials can be done with collaborators either nearby or at synchrotron radiation facilities such as those in Ithaca, NY (Cornell) or Wisconsin (SRC).
2. Measuring magnetic properties with magneto-optical methods.

Publications

• K. R. Podolak, R. F. Willis, M. J. Wilson, P. E. Schiffer, T. A. Norman, and K. N. Altmann. "Local and nonlocal magnetic behavior of dilute manganese-doped nickel alloys," J. Appl. Phys. 105 083918 (2009).
• R. F. Willis, T. Bramfeld and K. R. Podolak, "Finite-size nanoscaling of the critical temperature of ferromagnets with variable range of spin interactions," J. Appl. Phys. 101, 09G119 (2007)

Faculty Website

• http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/kenneth.podolak

Contact Ken Podolak

Office: Hudson Hall 223
Phone: (518) 564-3193
E-mail: kpodo001@plattsburgh.edu