Giti Khodaparast
Virginia Tech, USAFor contributions to understanding quantum and coherent states in multifunctional materials and educating researchers from underrepresented groups in science.
Giti Khodaparast has built a career based on collaborations. From the early stages of her education, she has worked to establish and maintain collaborators worldwide. As a researcher in the field of optics who explores materials’ properties, she relies heavily on collaborations with material scientists. Furthermore, she must work with other scientists at institutions with more specialized facilities than she can access daily to enhance her research capabilities. Her postdoctoral work at Rice University, USA, was particularly influential. During that time, she established two collaborations with high magnetic field facilities, one in Florida, USA, and one in Kashiwa, Japan, which she sustains today. In fact, her group recently visited one of those facilities, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida, in July 2024. Giti continues to grow her community of researchers who work together and accomplish cutting-edge research in her area, and she finds this wonderfully rewarding.
Giti has always been interested in researching materials and their multifunctionality. Today, she is part of the Experimental Condensed Matter faculty at Virginia Tech, USA, and holds the L. C. Hassinger Fellowship in Nanoscience. Specifically, her research group’s multidisciplinary work combines “state-of-the-art advanced experimental optical spectroscopy techniques to understand the electronic, vibrational, optical, and magnetic properties of various new, multifunctional materials.” The goal is to develop new concepts for optical devices that serve a wide range of applications. Giti compares the multifunctionality she’s exploring to a USB-Swiss Army knife of sorts that has storage, acts like a laser pointer and a flashlight, and more. Regarding materials, they are looking for “things that can offer a response and strong sensitivity to an external magnetic field, electric field, and light and can be manipulated for data storage, sensing, and so on.” Her work has been supported in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for many years, and she greatly appreciates the opportunity to continue her research as a result.
The field is expanding quickly, and new materials are being discovered constantly, offering scientific excitement. Giti comments, “This gives us a playground to play with their properties and see how we can understand them. They give you a lot of flexibility at the same time.” The growth in the field also means there is a wealth of opportunities for young scientists to find rewarding positions in research. One unique perspective and advice she offers is that students consider working more closely with national lab facilities earlier in their careers by joining summer research opportunities. She notices that many of the recent groundbreaking papers in the field have some connection with a national lab, likely due to their advanced equipment and capabilities as well as effective large collaborations. Giti comments, “Increasing summer internship opportunities for our students nationwide can help to train stronger graduates for the fast-paced technological world.”
Throughout her career, Giti has guided many students through her mentorship efforts. She particularly enjoys working with undergraduates, helping them find their path and identify their interests in optics. She also appreciates guiding her graduate students’ more defined ideas of their research paths. In all her work, particularly in her mentoring, Giti prefers a hands-on approach and routinely goes to the lab to work with her students. Giti has also been focused on increasing diversity and expanding the optics community. She shares, “My goal as an educator has been focused on promoting supportive programs for diversity, equity, and inclusion aiming at creating a climate for scientific excellence and outstanding scholarship in which students can achieve their goals.”
Giti emphasizes the importance of the human side of science. While competition is good, “there is enough room for everyone to play the game.” This relates to her collaborative foundation, illustrating the importance of working well with others and taking time to consider the people you work with. One particular scientist Giti admires is Prof. Mildred Dresselhaus for her humanity and great science. Giti invited Mildred for a talk to celebrate the year of physics at Virginia Tech in 2005, and Mildred always remembered Giti in the years following. For example, Mildred took the time to check in with Giti following the tragic 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech to ensure she was safe. This gesture reminded Giti of the importance of caring for the people you work with, not just their research, and she still honors this in her work.
Photo courtesy of ICTASII, Blacksburg Campus, Virginia Tech
Profile written by Samantha Hornback
