- Speaker
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Lilia Boeri, Ph.D.Professor, Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics, Sapienza University of Rome
Presidential Lectures are a series of free public colloquia spotlighting groundbreaking research across four themes: neuroscience and autism science, physics, biology, and mathematics and computer science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are designed to foster discussion and drive discovery within the New York City research community. We invite those interested in these topics to join us for this weekly lecture series.
Since its discovery over a century ago, superconductivity has promised transformative technologies, such as lossless power grids, magnetic levitation and ultrasensitive sensors. However, the progress in material discovery has been maddeningly slow. Despite decades of attempts, the dream of practical, ambient-condition superconductors has remained out of reach.
In this Presidential Lecture, Lilia Boeri will present cutting-edge research related to superconductivity. Eremets’ discovery of near room-temperature superconductivity in high-pressure hydrides marked a major turning point in the history of superconductivity, demonstrating that extreme pressure can stabilize phases with unprecedented properties that are unthinkable at ambient conditions. Ten years after the discovery of hydrogen sulfide superconductors, pressure quenching is emerging as a practical strategy to retain high-temperature phases at ambient pressure by preserving structures formed under extreme conditions.
About the Speaker
Boeri is a professor of theoretical condensed matter physics at the Sapienza University of Rome, where she also obtained her Ph.D. She previously worked at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, Germany, and at the Graz University of Technology in Austria.
Her research focuses on the design of novel superconducting and magnetic materials using ab initio methods. She has authored more than 80 scientific publications and delivered more than 100 invited talks and seminars at international conferences and research institutions.
Her recent work concentrates on high-pressure quenching of metastable phases of novel hydrides and borocarbide phases. Boeri is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Psi-k, an international organization supporting the development of electronic structure methods, and she is actively involved in promoting the role of women in STEM.