Karunakar Kothapalli

Biography

With experience at Liberty, King, and New Mexico State, Karunakar Kothapalli has taught a wide range of core courses, including classical, quantum, and statistical mechanics, and condensed matter physics. His research in correlated electron systems and high-pressure physics has resulted in publications in leading journals, including the Nature portfolio and the Physical Review journals. He enjoys mentoring students through research projects and has considerable experience training undergraduate and graduate students in demanding high-pressure experiments and physics education projects. He remains active in educational initiatives that help aspiring students, reflecting his commitment to transforming lives through faith and education.

Courses Taught:

• Classical Mechanics
• Quantum Mechanics
• Statistical Mechanics
• Electromagnetic Theory
• Modern Physics, Optics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• General Physics

Research Interests:

I investigate the structural and magnetic properties of correlated electron systems and their interplay with each other. I use diffraction and spectroscopic techniques such as Mossbauer spectroscopy, and I use high-pressure as a tuning parameter. I have worked on the design and improvement of high-pressure techniques using diamond anvil cells. Currently, I am also involved in research in astronomy and physics education.

Publications and Presentations:

• Advancing Exoplanet Research with Small Instruments: Transit Photometry Using a 60mm Telescope, C Jones, T Rutherford, K Kothapalli – 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), National Harbor, Maryland (January, 2025)
• Light as a Dipole: A Tortoise and Hare Model – Simoson, A, K Kothapalli, Handboo 954-0_38-1- Bridges through Data.in October 2023.
• U₂Ni₂Sn and the origin of magnetic anisotropy in uranium compounds – S Mašková, AV Andreev, Y Skourski, S Yasin, DI Gorbunov, S Zherlitsyn, H Nakotte, K Kothapalli, F Nasreen, C Cupp, HB Cao, A Kolomiets, L Havela Phys. Rev. B 99 (6), 064415 (2019)
• Distinct pressure evolution of coupled nematic and magnetic order in FeSe, Anna E Böhmer, Karunakar Kothapalli, Wageesha T Jayasekara, John M Wilde, Bing Li, Aashish Sapkota, Benjamin G Ueland, Pinaki Das, Yumin Xiao, Wenli Bi, Jiyong Zhao, E Ercan Alp, Sergey L Bud’ko, Paul C Canfield, Alan I Goldman, Andreas Kreyssig Phys. Rev. B 100 (6), 064515 (2019)
• Strong cooperative coupling of pressure-induced magnetic order and nematicity in FeSe – K Kothapalli, A E Böhmer, W T Jayasekara, B G Ueland, P Das, A Sapkota, V Taufour, Y Xiao, E E Alp, S L Bud’ko, P C Canfield, A Kreyssig, A I Goldman. Nature. Commun. 7:12728 (2016)

• High pressure effects on U L₃ x-ray absorption in partial fluorescence yield mode and single crystal x-ray diffraction in the heavy fermion compound UCd₁₁ F Nasreen, D Antonio, D VanGennep, C H Booth, K. Kothapalli, E D Bauer, J L Sarrao, B Lavina, V I Herbei, S Sinogeikin, P Chow, Y Xiao, Y Zhao and A Cornelius., J. of Physics: Cond. Matter, Volume 28, Number 10 (2016).

• Nuclear Forward Scattering and First Principles Studies of Novel Iron-Oxide Phase Fe₄O₅ upto 40 GPa K Kothapalli, E Kim, T Kolodziej, P F Weck, E E Alp, Y Xiao, P Chow, C Kenney-Benson, Y Meng, S Tkachev, A Kozlowski, B Lavina, Y Zhao., Rev. B 90, 024430 (2014).

Some books I have enjoyed:

Orthodoxy, Pleasures of God, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Luggage of Life, Peace Like a River, Out of Africa, First They Killed My Father, The Choice, Pensées.

A couple of quotes that challenge me:

“Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.”
– Blaise Pascal, Pensées

“The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.”
– Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man