Department of Physics

Faculty Description


Contact
Research Statement
  • My group's research is concerned with studying the structure and dynamics of Condensed Matter using the techniques of X-Ray and Neutron Scattering. Neutrons and X-Rays from Synchrotron Radiation sources are powerful tools to study matter with at length scales ranging from the nanoscopic to the mesoscopic. We have ongoing programs in both hard and soft Condensed Matter.
Awards & News
  • Sunil Sinha: 2004 MRS Medal Award Recipient
  • For seminal contributions to understanding mechanisms of thin-film surface and interface morphology evolution and establishing the foundations of diffraction and scattering methods for its quantitative analysis. http://www.mrs.org/meetings/fall2004/mrs_medal.html
  • Sunil K. Sinha, Professor of Physics, has been selected to receive the 2007 Barrett Award
  • Sunil K. Sinha, professor of physics, has been selected to receive the 2007 Barrett Award by the Denver X-ray Conference Advisory Committee. The Barrett Award recognizes "outstanding contributions to the field of powder diffraction."
    The award will be presented on August 1 at the 2007 Denver X-ray conference. Sinha is only the twelfth person to receive the award, which is presented biennially. It consists of $1,000 and a recognition plaque.
    Sinha's research involves examining the structure and dynamics of polymer films and other novel liquids using X-ray and neutron scattering. He also studies novel magnetic and superconducting materials to understand how their chemical structure affects their magnetic and transport properties.
  • UCSD Physicist Sunil Sinha has cover article published in the December 2012 edition of Nature Materials Magazine.
  • Professor Sinha and student Yicong Ma are authors of, "Long-range interlayer alignment of intralayer domains in stacked lipid bilayers" which is featured on the magazine cover for the December 2012 edition.

    The article can be read here: October 2012 Nature Materials

Selected Publications
  • - O.H.Seeck, H.J.Kim, D.R.Lee, D.Shu, I.Kaendler, J.K.Basu and S.K.Sinha, Observation of Thickness Quantization in Liquid Films Confined to Molecular Dimensions (submitted)

  • - H.J.Kim, A.Ruhm, L.B.Lurio, J.K.Basu,J.Lal, D.Lumma, S.G.J.Mochrie, and S.K.Sinha, Surface Dynamics of Polymer Films (submitted)

  • - Z.Islam, S.K.Sinha, D.Haskell, J.C.Lang, G.Srajer, D.R.Haeffner, B.W.Veal, and H.A.Mook, X-Ray Diffraction Study of Charge Density Waves and Oxygen Ordering in YBa2Cu3O6+x (submitted).

  • - K.Shin, Y.Pu, M.H.Rafailovich, J.Sokolov, O.H.Secck, S.K. Sinha, M.Tolan and R. Kolb, Correlated Surfaces of Free-standing Polystyrene Thin Films, Macromolecules 34, 5620, (2001).

  • - S.K. Sinha, Small Angle Scattering from Porous Materials, Book Chapter in Physics of Porous Media, P.Z. Wong, Ed., Academic Press, 1999).

  • - J. Wang, M. Tolan, O.H. Seeck , S.K. Sinha, O. Bahr, M.H. Rafailovich, and J. Sokolov, "Surfaces of Strongly Confined Polymer Thin Films Studied by X-ray Scattering," Phys. Rev. Lett., 83, 564 (1999).

  • - J.Wang, A.K.Sood, P.V.Satyam,Y.P.Feng, X.Z.Wu,Z.H.Cai,W.B.Yun and S.K.Sinha,X-ray Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy: A method for Studying Particle Dynamics in Condensed Matter, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 1110 (1998).

  • - Z. Li, M. Tolan, T. Hohr, D. Kharas, S. Qu, J. Sokolov, M.H. Rafailovich, H. Lorenz, J.P. Kotthaus, J. Wang, S. K. Sinha and A. Gibaud, Polymer Thin films on Patterned Si Surfaces, Macromolecules 31, 1915, (1998).

  • - M.Tolan, O.H.Seeck, J.-P. Schlomka, W.Press, J.Wang, S.K. Sinha, Z.Li, M.Rafailovich, and J. Sokolov, Evidence for Capillary Waves on Dewetted Polymer Film Surfaces: A Combined X-ray and Atomic Force Microscopy Study, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 2731 (1998).

  • - M.K.Sanyal, S.K.Sinha, K.G.Huang and B.M.Ocko, X-ray Scattering study of Capillary Wave Fluctuations at a Liquid Surface, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 628 (1991).