Simon Munyan

Biography

Simon Munyan is a graduate research assistant in the Stemmer group. He completed his Bachelor of Science at Penn State University in Materials Science with a focus on electronic and photonic materials. In his three years at Penn State, Simon conducted a variety of research projects under Professor Roman Engel-Herbert. His work encompassed growing iron-based superconductors via molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), performing low-temperature transport measurements, developing a cryogenic Seebeck/Nernst measurement technique, designing a metal oxide vapor source for MBE, and engineering a vacuum distillation system for metalorganic purification. In the summer before starting at UCSB, Simon worked at Lawrence Livermore National Lab where he aggregated and analyzed the data from the literature on quantum dot infrared photodetectors to optimize the synthesis and fabrication of these devices. He also produced a data visualization tool for COVID-19 therapeutics to inform researchers and the public on the progress of COVID-19 treatments. Now at UCSB, Simon is interested in researching topological superconductivity. He aims to synthesize complex oxides via molecular beam epitaxy in the Stemmer group. During his Ph.D., Simon hopes to bolster the field of topological quantum computing by finding topologically non-trivial superconductors that will prevent decoherence of quantum information. In his free time, Simon enjoys hiking, biking, reading, watching Jeopardy, and playing the piano and banjo. He enjoys studying geography, ancient history, and scientific history.