BEEKMAN, Christianne
Updated June 5, 2014
Edited July 16 by EEH
Biosketch
Christianne Beekman
 Assistant Professor – Physics Department, FSU, 2014
 Postdoctoral fellows at the University of Toronto and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
 Ph.D. in Physics from Leiden University, The Netherlands, 2010
 M.S. in Physics from Leiden University, The Netherlands, 2005
Research Interests
Complex oxides are one of the most widely studied classes of materials often composed of many
elements (including transition metals), which usually results in complex lattice structures. The interplay
between many competing interactions involving spin, charge, orbital and lattice degrees of freedom
results in the many remarkable physical properties of complex oxides. Due to the closeness in energy of
these interactions only small perturbations are required to dramatically change the physical properties
of these compounds. Hence, these materials provide an excellent basis for current and future (applied)
research in a number of exciting areas, such as multiferroics, magneto-optics, data storage devices and
solid oxide fuel cells.
An example of a perturbation that is often used is epitaxial strain, i.e. intentional lattice mismatch
between a thin film and the substrate that it is grown on. Recent studies have shown that the
application of epitaxial strain can control and/or enhance a variety of scientifically and technologically
important properties such as magnetoresistance, ferroelectricity and multiferroicity.
I am setting up a state-of-the-art thin film growth and characterization laboratory at the High Magnetic
Field Laboratory, exploiting the many interactions in complex oxides to find new ways to control their
properties using external perturbations (such as strain, electric fields and optical excitation). This will
lead to new insights into a broad range of fundamental physical properties as well as advancements in
developing novel heterostructure devices.