Computational Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) on 2D Quantum Materials

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are a way of bringing the excitement of research into the classroom, reaching more students, and reaching them earlier in their studies than the typical summer research experience or senior project. Key aspects are of a CURE are: students learn and use research methods, give input into the project, generate new research data, and analyze it to draw conclusions that are not known beforehand. I will show a paradigm for a computational CURE in a sophomore-level modern physics class, which has been run two years so far. It explores 2D quantum materials as a realization of the particle-in-a-box model. In a lab exercise, the students perform computational studies with density functional theory (DFT), provided by a convenient GUI tool on nanoHUB (https://nanohub.org/tools/ucb_compnano) that I co-developed which requires minimal computational skills. They each study a different in-plane heterostructure of a pair of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides. They examine the wavefunctions around the gap and interpret them in terms of the envelope function approximation and the particle in a box model, to identify quantum-confined states. Interesting quantum-well structures will be investigated further. Studies have shown that CUREs improve learning, foster a sense of belonging in the field, increase retention of students in science (including going on to do summer research), and are especially beneficial for minoritized/underrepresented students.