Cherie R Kagan Research Group
The Kagan group’s research is focused on studying the chemical and physical properties of nanostructured materials and in integrating materials with optical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, and thermal properties for (multi-)functional devices. We combine the flexibility of chemistry and bottom-up assembly with top-down fabrication techniques to design materials and devices. We explore the properties of materials and measure the characteristics of devices using spatially- and temporally-resolved optical spectroscopies, AC and DC electrical techniques, electrochemistry, scanning probe and electron microscopies, and analytical measurements.
Announcements
- Open Masters Student Researcher Position: Internet of Things for Precision AgricultureWe are seeking current Masters students at Penn interested in nanotechnology and sensors to join our lab and work on nanocrystal patterning as a part of the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture research center. Please reach out to Prof Kagan at kagan@seas.upenn.edu if you are interested.
- Open Postdoctoral Position: Adaptive Polymers for Leaf and Soil SensorsThe NSF Engineering Research Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag) unites an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from the University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University, the University of California-Merced, the University of Florida, with partners in education, government, and industry. The… Read more: Open Postdoctoral Position: Adaptive Polymers for Leaf and Soil Sensors
- Congratulations to Sarah for winning the Haller Prize for best graduate student at the 32nd International Conference on Defects in Semiconductors!“The Haller Prize is named after Eugene E. Haller who was a major figure in the semiconductor community and an inspiring mentor for students.” (http://icds2023.org/prizes)
- Welcome, Hsiang-Ting!Hsiang-Ting Lin has joined our group as a first-year PhD student in the ESE department.
- Congratulations, Henry!Congratulations to Henry on defending his PhD thesis!
- Congratulations, Steven!Congratulations to Steven on defending his PhD thesis!
Research Highlights

Nanodiamond emulsions for enhanced quantum sensing and click-chemistry conjugation Journal Article Forthcoming
In: Forthcoming.

Thermally Reconfigurable, 3D Chiral Optical Metamaterials: Building with Colloidal Nanoparticle Assemblies Journal Article
In: ACS Nano, vol. 17, iss. 22, pp. 22611–22619, 2023.

Crystallization of binary nanocrystal superlattices and the relevance of short-range attraction Journal Article
In: Nature Synthesis, 2023.

TiO2 Metasurfaces with Visible Quasi-Guided Mode Resonances via Direct Imprinting of Aqueous Nanocrystal Dispersions Journal Article
In: ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2023.

Gate-Tunable Optical Anisotropy in Wafer-Scale, Aligned Carbon Nanotube Films Journal Article Forthcoming
In: Forthcoming.