Seminars
Seminars occur on Wednesdays from 12:00-1:00 PM Pacific in ISB 130 with a hybrid option over Zoom unless otherwise posted. To join the mailing list, please contact Prof. Christopher Smallwood at christopher.smallwood@sjsu.edu with the words "Seminars and Events" included in the subject heading.
This Week
Harnessing Oxides for Emerging Computing Paradigms with First-Principles Calculations
Shenli Zhang, San José State University
Wednesday, 10/1/2025, 12:00-1:00pm Pacific
Abstract: Oxides are important materials family that address critical challenges faced by
society, ranging from energy and environmental sustainability to the urgent need for
novel computing paradigms. For instance, AI platforms operating on the current Von
Neumann computing architecture are high power consumption and will soon become unsustainable.
Such a challenge can be mitigated by developing novel computing architectures, such
as neuromorphic computing, using transition metal oxides. Besides, the development
of quantum computing requires advanced materials for quantum bits or "qubits," and
wide band-gap oxides are promising candidates. In this talk, I will highlight my research
on one of the transition metal oxides, the cobaltite La1-xSrxCoO3-d, where I conducted a series of first-principles calculations to demonstrate the materials
applicability to neuromorphic computing. I will start with a general introduction
to density functional theory, and show how the strong coupling between structural,
electronic, and magnetic properties in the cobaltites enables energy-efficient neuromorphic
devices. Besides, I will also demonstrate how X-ray absorption spectra combining first-principles
calculations and experimental measurement can reveal the oxygen vacancy concentration
in oxides thin films. Finally, I will provide an overview of the current research
activities in my group, which continues to leverage oxides for low-power electronics
and quantum computing with computational modeling.
Bio: Dr. Shenli Zhang joined the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at San José State University as an Assistant Professor in July, 2025. Before that, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and at the University of Chicago. She earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on multi-scale computational modeling of oxides materials for diverse applications, including transition metal oxides for neuromorphic devices, batteries, and hydrogen production, as well as porous oxides for gas adsorption. Dr. Zhang has authored over 20 publications in leading journals such as PRX-Energy, npj Computational Materials, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Chemistry of Materials. Her contributions to neuromorphic computing earned her two Distinguished von Neumann Postdoctoral Awards from the DOE Energy Frontier Research Center Q-MEEN-C.
