People
Paul Simmonds, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Paul Simmonds completed his Ph.D. in semiconductor physics at the University of Cambridge, where he worked with Profs. David Ritchie and Michael Pepper. His research focused on the growth of thin III-V semiconductor films and nanostructures by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for studies of electron transport in low-dimensional, high-mobility materials. Dr. Simmonds moved to the US in 2007 to work as a postdoc, first with Prof. Christopher Palmstrøm at the University of Minnesota / UCSB and then, from early 2009, at Yale University with Prof. Minjoo Larry Lee. Dr. Simmonds’ research at Yale was chiefly based on his discovery that by using tensile strain it is possible to create III-V quantum dots on  (110) and (111) surfaces, with potential significance for the fields of quantum computing and spintronics. From September 2011 to September 2014, Dr. Simmonds managed the Integrated NanoMaterials Laboratory at UCLA. Working with Prof. Diana Huffaker, Dr. Simmonds oversaw research on two interconnected MBE tools configured to grow a range of different semiconductor materials for electronic and photonic applications. Dr. Simmonds was also Chair of the IEEE Photonics Society, Los Angeles Chapter.
Dr. Simmonds joined Boise State University in October 2014, with a joint appointment in Physics and the Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering. He has been a Senior Member of the IEEE since 2016. Dr. Simmonds won the National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2016, and the North American Molecular Beam Epitaxy Young Investigator award in 2018.
Maddy Drake
Graduate Research Assistant
maddydrake@u.boisestate.edu
Trent Garrett
Graduate Research Assistant    Â
trentgarrett@u.boisestate.edu
Trent Garrett is an undergraduate student, pursing a B.S. in Physics. Trent has worked as a lab instructor in the Physics department and is currently working as a research assistant in the CEN group. In his free time, Trent enjoys watching Star Trek and learning about new computer hardware. Trent’s goal at Boise State is to take information from the classroom and apply it to research being done in physics and materials science. In the future, Trent hopes to pursue a graduate degree in materials science or physics.
Former CEN members
Dr. Christopher Schuck
In Spring 2015, Christopher was the very first graduate student to join the CEN, working towards a PhD in the Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering. He has a B.S. in Physics and Biotechnology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Nebraska. While there he received a NASA Nebraska Space Grant Scholarship and the Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding Leadership Award.
His PhD dissertation discussed his research into growing GaAs(111)A tensile-strained quantum dots as ideal entangled photon emitters. Christopher graduated in Spring 2019, and now manages an MBE growth facility at the University of Delaware.
Dr. Katie Sautter
Katie Sautter obtained her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, working in the CEN from 2017–2021. Her research focused primarily on the use of tensile strain at the nanoscale to transform Ge into a direct band gap semiconductor. Prior to starting her graduate studies in Boise, she received a B.S. in materials science and engineering with Cum Laude distinction from Penn State University in 2017. During her undergraduate career, she interned for the III-V multijunction solar cell team at the National Renewable Energy Lab in 2016 and completed a Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Utah in 2015.
Katie is now a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago, working on the MBE synthesis of materials from quantum information applications.
Dr. Kevin Vallejo
Kevin Vallejo obtained his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, working in the CEN from 2017–2021. His research covered a broad range of topics, from exciton transport in surface acoustic waves, submonolayer quantum dot photodetectors, and narrow band gap tensile-strained quantum dots for infrared optoelectronics. During his Ph.D. studies he also completed a one-year NNSA fellowship through the US Dept. of Energy. His B.S. in Physics is from The University of Texas at El Paso, with minors in mathematics and philosophy. While completing his bachelor’s degree, Kevin received the Gilman Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State to study a semester in Turku, Finland.
Kevin is currently a Heath Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at the Idaho National Laboratory working on the MBE synthesis of exotic thin film materials.
Robin McCown
Robin McCown worked in the CEN as Graduate Research Assistant in Materials Science, from 2015–2017. Robin made some critical contributions to the lab and helped define many of the processes and tools we use every day as we grow and characterize samples. Robin moved to St Louis, MO, in 2018.
Kenton Burns
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Kenton graduated from Boise State University in Spring 2016 with a B.S. in Physics in the spring of 2016. While in the CEN, Kenton was instrumental in helping set-up the MBE system and get the lab ready for research. Kenton now works as a transmission electron microscope (TEM) engineer at Micron Technology in Boise.
Joseph Spinuzzi
Undergraduate Research Assistant
In spring 2017, Joe Spinuzzi graduated from Boise State University with a B.S. in Physics with emphases in Applied Physics and Astrophysics, and minors in Math and Materials Science.  While in the CEN Joe built and calibrated a Hall effect measurement system, and was awarded a HERC fellowship for his research. Joe also worked in Dr. Dmitri Tenne’s lab using Raman spectroscopy to determine structure and phase changes of different materials. Joe is now a graduate student in the physics department at University of California, Merced.
Simon Roy
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Simon Roy is an Idaho native, who worked in the CEN for two years during his B.S. in Physics with an emphasis in Applied Physics, and minors in Applied Mathematics and Materials Science. Simon worked for the Physics department as a lab instructor, teaching assistant, and research assistant. Simon is now a graduate student in the Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering at Boise State, working with Dr. Bill Knowlton.
Carlos I. Cabrera
Visiting Graduate Research Assistant
Carlos I. Cabrera is a physics PhD graduate from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Mexico, who visited the CEN during Spring 2017 on a CONACYT scholarship. He has a B.S. and a M.S. in physics from the University of Havana, Cuba, in computational modeling of quantum heterostructure solar cells. While there he received an Academy of Science of Cuba Award in 2013.
While at Boise State University, Carlos gained research experience in the epitaxial growth and characterization of semiconductor materials. He also built computational models to support our research into self-assembled quantum dot nanostructures.
Ashlie Hush
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ashlie Hush is an undergraduate in the Micron School of Material Science & Engineering, working towards a B.S. with a minor in Physics. She currently works at Micron Technology in the Research and Development Yield Enhancement Scanning Electron Microscopy Laboratory using multiple advanced characterization methods to supplement the development of new Micron products.
Her goals at Boise State are to gain as much research experience as possible, further enhance her skills in quantum mechanics and materials characterization, and explore the possibilities of quantum computing through molecular beam epitaxy.
Austin Mello
Undergraduate Research Assistant     Â
Austin Mello is working towards his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering with a minor in Physics and plans to attend graduate school for Materials Science in the future. Joining the CEN group in February of 2017, Austin looks forward to learning more about possible applications of materials science and physics. Previously working as a chemistry and math tutor, Austin is currently working for Woodland Manufacturing as a metal technician.
His goals at Boise State are to gain as much knowledge as possible about materials science and physics, and to build skills involved in materials research. Austin has a deep love for science, chemistry in particular, and looks forward to applying that passion to his daily work life.
Kati Wada
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Kati Wada is an undergraduate in the physics department working towards her B.S. in Physics with an Applied Mathematics minor. Kati has worked with a few different research professors broadening her experience. First in cosmology research, primarily shell scripting and writing Python code for Dr. Daryl Macomb. She is also currently doing research for Dr. Dmitri Tenne doing Raman spectroscopy and data analysis, becoming proficient in Origin. Kati is excited to now have the opportunity to work with Dr. Simmonds and the CEN group. Kati is particularly interested in quantum mechanics and the use of physics in the material science field. She is looking forward to attending graduate school for Materials Science to further her education and research.
Ariel Weltner
Undergraduate Research Assistant
arielweltner@u.boisestate.edu
Ariel Weltner is an undergraduate student, pursuing a B.S. in the Micron School of Materials Science & Engineering. Ariel joined the CEN group in May of 2017 with the goal of expanding her research experience and becoming more involved in the Materials Science and Engineering field. Currently, Ariel enjoys working as a nanny and a tutor, and is passionate about encouraging youth of all ages to pursue interests in science-related fields.
At Boise State, Ariel is looking to gain more knowledge and experience of materials science, chemistry and physics, and to study the possibilities for manipulating atomic structures and characteristics to produce and utilize new material properties.
Ariel is now pursuing a PhD in Dr. Estrada’s group at Boise State.
