James W. McIver
James McIver received his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 2014, after completing a B.S. in Physics from Johns Hopkins University. He then joined the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter as a Humboldt postdoctoral fellow. In 2020, he was appointed as an independent Max Planck research group leader as part of the Max Planck—NYC Center for Nonequilibrium Quantum Phenomena, a collaborative research initiative between the Max Planck Society, the Flatiron Institute, and Columbia University. In 2022, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Physics at Columbia as part of the Max Planck—NYC Center.
Prof. McIver investigates the electrical and optical properties of quantum materials on ultrafast timescales and at terahertz frequencies. He is particularly interested in understanding how these properties are modified in the presence of strong laser fields, where quantum effects that are inaccessible under equilibrium conditions can be realized. His group does so using a suite of ultrafast optoelectronic techniques.
I'm also a musician and play the piano and banjo!