Dr. Orion CIFTJA 
Title: Professor, Interim Associate Dean for Sciences and Mathematics, BCAS
Phone: 1-(936)-261-3137
Fax: 1-(936)-261-3149
Email: ogciftja@pvamu.edu
Office Location: O’Banion 330F
Curriculum Vitae: Ciftja CV

Education:

  • Ph.D, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA/ISAS), Via Beirut 2-4, Trieste, Italy (1997)
  • M.S,  International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA/ISAS), Trieste, Italy (1995)
  • Diploma, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy (1994)

Biography

Orion Ciftja received his Ph.D. in Physics in the field of Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics from the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA/ISAS), Trieste, Italy in 1997. After his Ph.D., he worked two years as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, USA (1997-1999). Later on, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University, College Station, USA (1999-2000) and then a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Missouri, Columbia, USA (2000-2002). He joined Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, USA in 2002 and, presently, he is a tenured Professor of Physics. His research, broadly speaking, covers various areas in theoretical condensed matter physics and computational physics.

Research Interests

Theoretical condensed matter physics, strongly correlated electronic systems, fractional/integer quantum Hall effect, semiconductor quantum dots, quantum liquids and solids, low-dimensional systems and nanostructures, quantum Monte Carlo simulation methods, molecular magnetism and classical spin systems.

Social media: Google scholar, Research gate, Linkedin, facebook
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=JxevtrMAAAAJ
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Orion-Ciftja
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5107-0533
https://www.linkedin.com/in/orion-ciftja-5317a2a

Work History

  • Assistant/Associate/Full Professor, Department of Physics, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas 77446, USA (2002/2008/2013-present)
  • KITP Scholar, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA (2007, 2008 and 2009)
  • Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA (2000-2002)
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA      (1999-2000)
  • Post-Doctoral Fellow, Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA (1997-1999)
  • Guest Scientist, International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste I-34100, Italy (October 1, 1994-December 31, 1994)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, University of Tirana, Albania (1991-1993)

 Awards and Honors

  • Presidential Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Researcher 2023. This award is the highest honor bestowed on researchers by PVAMU. The accomplishments and contributions of those selected are highly meritorious and worthy of recognition. They have had an impact on not only PVAMU, but also on the broader community, the state of Texas, and/or at the national and international levels. https://www.pvamu.edu/blog/pvamu-faculty-staff-honored-at-reach-for-excellence-2023-awards-luncheon/
  • Excellence in Scholarly Research Award 2022. The Excellence in Scholarly Research Award honors PVAMU faculty/staff members for their exceptional accomplishments in scholarly research activities, dissemination and products, demonstrating a strong commitment to elevate PVAMU research mission. The accomplishments and contributions of those selected are highly meritorious and worthy of recognition. The recipients of this award function as a role model for increasing scholarly research activities, dissemination and products by faculty/staff at PVAMU. https://www.pvamu.edu/blog/pvamu-2021-and-2022-faculty-and-staff-award-recipients/
  • Presidential Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Faculty Member 2021. The Presidential Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Faculty Member is the highest honor bestowed on faculty members by PVAMU. The accomplishments and contributions of those selected are highly meritorious and worthy of recognition. The recipients of this award have had an impact not only on PVAMU but also on the broader community, the state of Texas, and at the national and international levels. https://www.pvamu.edu/blog/pvamu-2021-and-2022-faculty-and-staff-award-recipients/

Memberships

  • Life member of the American Physical Society (APS)

Dr. Ciftja awarded NSF research grant:

This award supports theoretical research and education with an aim to understand new states of matter exhibited by electrons in high magnetic fields and confined to a plane. New electronic states of matter are interesting from the perspective of fundamental science, but are also potential building blocks of future technologies for electronic devices, sensors, computation, and more. Undergraduate students will be able to participate in valuable research experience.  To learn more please visit
http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0804568

Dr. Ciftja receives national award:

Read about Dr. Ciftja named a KITP SCHOLAR for the period 2007-2009. Here is the Roster of KITP SCHOLARS since 1998. Here is a description of KITP, University of California, Santa Barbara  (from Wikipedia).

Teaching Interests

Teaching Statement/Philosophy

Teaching requires dedication and hard work. It also requires practical goals, realistic ideas, reasonable approaches and proper use of teaching tools. To this effect, I have worked very hard to:

  • Help students appreciate the importance of physics and sciences; and
  • Educate, inspire and nurture our students to grow into all-around productive citizens, consistent with our university’s mission.

To achieve these goals I have conducted classes in an easy to follow manner, emphasized core concepts, focused on problem solving skills that benefited all students, encouraged students to work with diligence and achieve high standards, offered help to all students at any time, Taught classes in a student-centered environment by infusing technology and introduced innovative methods to teaching.

 

Courses Taught:

General Physics I
General Physics II
University Physics I
University Physics II
General Physics Lab I
General Physics Lab II
University Physics Lab I
University Physics Lab II
Mechanics I
Electricity and Magnetism I
Introductory Quantum Mechanics I
Modern Physics
Physics Research Project
Physics Research Seminar, etc.

 

Teaching Schedule:

Spring 2025

Course
Days
Room
Time
PHYS 1301-Z01-General Physics I
 NA NA Online Course

Fall 2024

Course
Days
Room
Time
PHYS 1302-Z04-General Physics II
 NA NA Online Course
PHYS 3310-P01-Mechanics I MWF 330AH 10:00-10:50 am
PHYS 4302-P01-Introduction to Quantum Mechanics I MWF 330AH 11:00-11:50 am
PHYS 4191-P01-Physics Research Project MWF 330AH 12:00-12:50 pm

 

Research Projects

  • Strongly correlated electron systems and the fractional quantum Hall effect: The experimental realization of almost ideal two-dimensional electronic systems opened new frontiers in condensed matter physics and resulted in many discoveries such as the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE). The FQHE represents a novel state of matter that arises from strong electronic correlations. Studies of FQHE systems in presence of anisotropy have started only recently. Rather than adopt the conventional charge density wave approach, one can view the onset of anisotropy as signature of a phase transition to an anisotropic liquid crystalline state with broken rotational symmetry. My current work is focused on the formulation of a general theory of liquid crystalline electronic systems and the understanding of the impact/origin the anisotropy in such systems.
  • Nanoscale semiconductor quantum dots: Quantum dots are semiconductor devices consisting of electrons confined in a small region of space, usually in two dimensions. The interplay between quantum confinement, magnetic field and charging effects manifests itself in many complex physical phenomena. Current studies have thoroughly investigated the interplay between confinement, magnetic field and electronic correlations. Less work is done to understand the impact of these factors on the spin of electrons spins which is important for the area of spintronics/quantum computing. My current work is focused on the understanding of the properties of small semiconductor quantum dots and studies of a reliable spin readout (control) mechanism in small single or laterally coupled quantum dots.
  • Monte Carlo algorithms for quantum many-body problems: Monte Carlo methods for solving the many-body Schrödinger equation have been widely applied to the study of quantum systems as diverse as liquid and solid helium, electron gas and small molecules. Will the increasing availability of supercomputers, this trend will undoubtedly continue. Fundamental improvements in Monte Carlo algorithms are needed in order to significantly affect many areas of research simultaneously. My work is focused on the implementation of second and fourth order Monte Carlo simulation algorithms to study liquid and solid He4 using the shadow wave function formalism. Results on Bose systems have been very encouraging. My near future interest is to extend such algorithms to Fermi systems.

Journal Articles

  1. O. Ciftja and C. L. Bentley Jr, Impact of induced electric field on the motion of a charged particle in a uniform time-dependent magnetic field that is linearly increasing with time, Phys. Lett. A 526, 129974 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2024.129974
  2. O. Ciftja, J. Batle, M. Abdel-Aty, M. A. Hafez and S. Alkhazaleh, Model and energy bounds for a two-dimensional system of electrons localized in concentric rings, Nanomaterials 14, 1615 (2024). https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14201615
  3. J. Batle and O. Ciftja, Zigzag phase transition of electrons confined within a thin annulus region, Phys. Lett. A 517, 129665 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2024.129665
  4. O. Ciftja, Landau levels for charged particles with anisotropic mass, Am. J. Phys. 92, 625 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0123039
  5. O. Ciftja, Validity of an approximate electrostatic interaction model, Results Phys. 64, 107948 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2024.107948
  6. O. Ciftja, A Charged Particle with Anisotropic Mass in a Perpendicular Magnetic Field–Landau Gauge, Symmetry 16, 414 (2024). https://doi.org/10.3390/sym16040414
  7. O. Ciftja and C. L. Bentley Jr, Electrostatic potential of a uniformly charged annulus, Eur. J. Phys. 45, 035201 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/ad2cf6
  8. O. Ciftja and C. L. Bentley Jr, Electrostatic interaction energy between the electrodes of a concentric coplanar sensor, Results Phys. 57, 107374 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2024.107374
  9. O. Ciftja, Accurate approximations for the shape-dependent electrostatic energy of a uniformly charged rectangular plate, Results Phys. 57, 107373 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2024.107373
  10. O. Ciftja, Interaction Potential between a Uniformly Charged Square Nanoplate and Coplanar Nanowire, Nanomaterials 13, 2988 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13232988
  11. J. Batle, O. Vlasiuk, and O. Ciftja, Correspondence between Electrostatics and Contact Mechanics with Further Results in Equilibrium Charge Distributions, Ann. Phys. (Berlin) 2300269 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/andp.202300269
  12. O. Ciftja, Potential energy of a pair of identical coplanar uniformly charged circular rings, Chem. Phys. Lett. 825, 140587 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2023.140587
  13. K. Storr, O. Ciftja, J. Jackson, and L. Allen, Interaction potential between coplanar uniformly charged disk and ring, Results Phys. 50, 106529 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2023.106529
  14. O. Ciftja, Exact ground state energy of a system with an arbitrary number of dipoles at the sites of a regular one-dimensional crystal lattice, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 172, 111044 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpcs.2022.111044
  15. J. Quintanilla and O. Ciftja, Asymptotic Pomeranchuk instability of Fermi liquids in half‑filled Landau levels, (Nature) Sci. Rep. 13, 1400 (2023). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-28614-z

Conference Proceedings

  1. O. Ciftja, Emergence of liquid crystalline order in the lowest Landau level of a quantum Hall system with internal anisotropy, AIP Adv. 8, 055812 (2018).https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5004988 [Conference:  62nd Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM)  Location:  Pittsburgh, PA  Date:  NOV 06-10, 2017]
  2. O. Ciftja, Anisotropic electronic states in the fractional quantum Hall regime, AIP Adv. 7, 055804 (2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4972854 [Conference:  61st Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (MMM)  Location:  New Orleans, LA  Date:  OCT 31-NOV 04, 2016]
  3. O. Ciftja, Anisotropic quantum Hall liquid states with no translational invariance in the lowest Landau level, J. Low Temp. Phys. 183:85-91, (2016). DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1468-6 [Conference:  International Symposium on Quantum Fluids and Solids (QFS)  Location:  Niagara Falls Convention Ctr, Niagara Falls, NY  Date:  AUG 09-15, 2015]
  4. O. Ciftja, G. Paredes, and M. Griffin, Mathematical expressions for a system of two identical uniformly charged rods, Phys. Scr. 89, 115803 (2014). doi: http://doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/89/11/115803 [Conference:  11th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas  Location: Mons, BELGIUM  Date:  AUG 05-09, 2013]
  5. O. Ciftja, Coulomb self-energy of a uniformly charged three-dimensional cylinder, Physica B 407, 2803 (2012). [Conference:  International Workshop on Positron Studies of Defects (PSD)  Location:  Delft Univ Technol, Delft, NETHERLANDS  Date:  AUG 28-SEP 02, 2011]
  6. O. Ciftja, T. Rasco, G. Vargas, and S. Dunn, Confinement of electrons in a geometrically patterned non-circular two-dimensional semiconductor quantum dot, Phys. Stat. Sol. (c) 9, 1337 (2012).                                                                                                                            [Conference:  11th International Conference on Physics of Light-Matter Coupling in Nanostructures (PLMCN)  Location:  Berlin, GERMANY  Date:  APR 04-08, 2011]
  7. H. Hong, C.-K. Park, A. T. Raghavender, O. Ciftja, N. S. Bingham, M. H. Phan, and H. Srikanth, Room temperature ferromagnetism in monoclinic Mn-doped ZrO2 thin films, J. Appl. Phys. 111, 07C302 (2012). [Conference:  56th Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials  Location:  Scottsdale, AZ  Date:  OCT 30-30, 2011]
  8. O. Ciftja, Anisotropy of quantum Hall phases at filling factor 9/2, J. Appl. Phys. 107, 09C504 (2010). [Conference:  11th Joint MMM-Intermag Conference  Location:  Washington, DC  Date:  JAN 18-22, 2010]
  9. O. Ciftja and J. Quintanilla, Effective interaction potentials in the uppermost Landau level, J. Low. Temp. Phys. 159, 189 (2010). [Conference:  9th International Conference on Research in High Magnetic Fields (RHMF 2009)  Location:  Dresden, GERMANY  Date:  JUL 22-25, 2009]
  10. O. Ciftja, Magnetic properties of small molecular clusters, Journal of Physics: Conference Series 200, 022002 (2010). [Conference: International Conference on Magnetism (ICM 2009)  Location:  Karlsruhe, GERMANY  Date:  JUL 26-31, 2009]

This poster (.ppt) was presented at the 2-nd Annual TAMUS “Pathways Research Symposium”, held in Corpus Christi, TX on October 15-16, 2004.

This poster was presented at the Gordon Research Conference on “Correlated Electron Systems” held in Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA on June 20-25, 2004.

Some of my recent papers ( *.pdf ) that indicate my current interests:

Some of my older papers ( *.pdf):

Ethical behavior in science, read about Schoen‘s case

National Nanotechnology Initiative
This is a nice paper ( . pdf ) in Nanotechnology
Quantum dots from TUDELFT

Texas Physics Consortium (TPC)

The Texas Electronic Coalition for Physics (TECP)
If you think that Physics is not “cool” read Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics

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