Jane Park

Bio: Eugene (Jane) Park is a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, advised by Prof. Frances Ross. She received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focused on atomic-scale engineering of 2D van der Waals quantum materials and 2D/3D heterostructures using in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy. She developed methods to sculpt atomic lattices and control spin textures through electron beam–solid interactions, offering new routes to manipulate quantum behavior. Her work has been recognized by the Materials Research Society Graduate Student Gold Award, Caltech Trailblazer Award, Microscopy and Microanalysis Student Scholar Award, and International Microscopy Congress Best Oral Presentation Award. She is also a recipient of the MathWorks Engineering Fellowship and has held leadership role as co-president of MIT Women in Materials Science.

Postdoctoral research project: Accessing femtosecond energy dynamics at the atomic scale.  Modern electronics and emerging quantum technologies consume enormous amounts of energy, much of which is lost at tiny material interfaces where charge, atoms, and vibrations interact. My research aims to understand how energy moves through materials at the smallest possible scales – down to individual atoms and trillionths of a second. By combining atomic-resolution electron microscopy and ultrafast techniques, I study how energy flows, dissipates, or becomes trapped at interfaces and defects in advanced materials. This approach allows us to directly visualize how electrons, atoms, and lattice vibrations respond to energy input in real time. By revealing the hidden pathways of energy loss, this work seeks to establish new design rules for more efficient electronic, spintronic, and quantum devices, helping enable future technologies that compute, store, and transmit information using far less energy.

Research focus:  Energy Efficiency

Advisors:  Alfred Zong - Physics | Kate Reidy - Materials Science and Engineering