Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Email: hutzat@berkeley.edu
Office: Latimer Hall 445
Labs: Hildebrand D54, D52, D43a, D45, D42, D91
Research Interests
Nanoscience, nano-optics, single molecule spectroscopy, quantum optics, functional inorganic nanostructures, optoelectronic materials, photonics, materials chemistry.
Research in the Utzat group is concerned with understanding and harnessing the light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. We seek to exploit expertise in single-molecule spectroscopy, inorganic materials synthesis, and nanofabrication to gain exquisite control over photonic, electronic, spin, and vibrational degrees of freedom and their couplings. Currently, we follow two interconnected research schemes:
Functional Inorganic Nanostructures and Emerging Semiconductor Materials
We seek to synthesize emerging semiconductor materials with tailored optical properties down to the level of individual excitations. Understanding materials structure across the molecular, nano-, and mesoscale and how it dictates optical properties forms the foundation of our efforts. Ultimately, we uncover basic science while providing new materials for applications in optoelectronics, including single-photon sources, light-emitting diodes, and nanoscale lasers.
Nano-optics, Nanophotonics, and Single Molecule Spectroscopy
We develop new tools in microscopy to study nanoscale dynamics. A major scientific goal is understanding how the atomic-level structure and local environment affect the excited state dynamics of solid-state single-photon emitters. To this end, we seek to integrate optical single-molecule spectroscopy and high-resolution electron microscopy. Through the concurrent resolution of the optical signatures and atomic-precision structure of single emitters, we inform the rational design of materials for optical quantum technologies. An emerging thrust of the group builds optical metrology to resolve the multi-timescale conformational dynamics of single proteins.
Biography
- Assistant Professor, University of California at Berkeley, College of Chemistry (since 2022)
- Post-doc, Stanford University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering (2022)
- Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2019)
- M.Sc. in Chemistry, ETH Zurich (2013)
- B.Sc. in Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University (2008-2011)