Pengcheng Dai

Pengcheng Dai is the Sam and Helen Worden Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Rice University. His research focuses on experimental condensed matter physics, particularly using neutron scattering to study correlated electron materials such as quantum spin liquids, superconductors, and kagome lattice systems. He holds a BS in Physics from Zhengzhou University (1984) and a PhD in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Missouri-Columbia (1993).

His work emphasizes neutron diffraction, muon spin relaxation (μSR), and other advanced spectroscopic techniques to explore emergent phenomena in complex materials, including fractionalized excitations in spin ices, unconventional superconductivity in kagome metals, and charge density wave (CDW) ordering in magnetic systems. Key themes include flat band physics, topological band structures, and the interplay between magnetism and electronic transport.

Recent studies have investigated strain-tunable superconductivity in CsV₃Sb₅, magnetic excitations in van der Waals ferromagnets like CrGeTe₃, and the interplay between CDW and magnetic orders in FeGe. His research also addresses nematicity in iron-based superconductors and the role of spin-orbit coupling in topological materials.

Notable experimental platforms include neutron scattering at facilities such as the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and muon beamlines. He collaborates extensively on material synthesis and theoretical modeling to interpret electronic and magnetic phase diagrams.