CCNY Physics senior chosen as Top Presenter at the American Physical Society Conference

The City College of New York undergraduate researcher, Charanjot Singh, a senior majoring in physics, was named Top Presenter in his session at the American Physical Society Conference in Las Vegas in March. It was his first presentation at a professional conference. His presentation was titled “Strain engineering effects on the optical properties of bilayer MoS₂.”
 
Singh studies the properties of atomically thin-layer materials such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a compound composed of molybdenum and sulfur, because of its unique reflective and luminescent properties. Specifically, he is interested in multilayered atomically thin heterostructures – semiconductor structures in which the chemical composition changes with position – studying their optical properties under strain, as well as in structures that trap light. Such heterostructures are expected to help build enhanced optical sensors and other optoelectronic devices such as lasers and LEDs.
 
Singh grew up in Punjab, India. As a boy, he was fascinated with gadgets and with how things worked. He dissected scrap materials like light bulbs and broken appliances to build mechanical gadgets.
 
“I took out the motors and chips and capacitors and duct taped things together,” he said. At age nine he constructed a remote-controlled toy car. He went on to operational miniature fans, one for each family member, for relief during the extreme summer heat.
 
Singh first learned of City College and its importance in the scientific world when he was in high school, and heard CCNY physics professor Michio Kaku talking about particle physics on a podcast. In 2019, Singh arrived at CCNY as a freshman. Since then, Singh moved from tweaking broken appliances to figuring out how things work at the molecular level.
 
“Charanjot has been carrying out research in my lab now for over two years and has established himself as an expert in the fabrication of atomically thin material-based structures,” said Singh’s advisor, professor of physics Vinod Menon. “His motivation to do research and passion for physics have been the key to his success.”
 

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