Sankar Das Sarma

<h2 id="career">Career</h2>
Das Sarma came to the United States from India as a physics graduate student in 1974 after finishing his secondary school (Hare School in <a href="/facts/Kolkata/k0HVgEYm">Kolkata</a>) and undergraduate education at Presidency College in Calcutta, India (now Presidency University in Kolkata) where he was born. He received his PhD in theoretical physics from <a href="/facts/Brown_University/o9MRu4jx">Brown University</a> in 1979 as a doctoral student of <a href="/facts/John_Quinn_(physicist)/F5CMYB7g">John Quinn</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>
In collaboration with <a href="/facts/Chetan_Nayak/7K4clvL1">Chetan Nayak</a> and <a href="/facts/Michael_Freedman/FxESCuA7">Michael Freedman</a> of <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Research/04A5LpMI">Microsoft Research</a>, Das Sarma introduced the 
 
 
 
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 <a href="/facts/Topological_quantum_computer/paJBK88q">topological qubit</a> in 2005,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> which has led to experiments in building a <a href="/facts/Topological_quantum_computer/paJBK88q">fault-tolerant quantum computer</a> based on <a href="/facts/Two-dimensional_semiconductor/67LBEUN2">two-dimensional semiconductor</a> structures. Das Sarma's work on <a href="/facts/Graphene/QDGUBaPt">graphene</a> has led to the theoretical understanding of graphene carrier transport properties at low densities where the inhomogeneous electron-hole puddles dominate the graphene landscape.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a> In 2006 Das Sarma with Euyheon Hwang provided the basic theory for collective modes and dielectric response in graphene and related chiral two-dimensional materials.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> In 2011 Das Sarma and collaborators introduced a new class of lattice <a href="/facts/Tight_binding/1Iq7SSzo">tight-binding</a> flat-band systems with nontrivial <a href="/facts/Chern_class/Tw2WD5hM">Chern numbers</a> which belongs to the <a href="/facts/Universality_class/YMuelFKb">universality class</a> of continuum <a href="/facts/Quantum_Hall_effect/yK3zcCgu">quantum Hall</a> and <a href="/facts/Fractional_quantum_Hall_effect/bkRtdmxX">fractional quantum Hall</a> systems without any external magnetic fields.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> Such flat-band tight-binding systems with non-trivial Chern numbers have substantially enhanced the types of possible physical systems for the realization of topological matter.
In 2010, Das Sarma and collaborators, made a prediction that <a href="/facts/Majorana_fermion/39gzL0Nv">Majorana fermions</a> will be found in condensed matter,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> in particular, in semiconductor nanowires. <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> 
This has led to considerable experimental activity, led by Microsoft Corporation, to produce a topological quantum computer.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a>
He has been a visiting professor at many institutions during his professional career, including <a href="/facts/Technical_University_of_Munich/14UXILEo">Technical University of Munich</a>, <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a> <a href="/facts/Thomas_J._Watson_Research_Center/XfGnAzRW">Thomas J. Watson Research Center</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_Hamburg/BeercIta">University of Hamburg</a>, <a href="/facts/Cambridge_University/0la7aX9o">Cambridge University</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_California%2c_Santa_Barbara/G7UvBWlK">University of California, Santa Barbara</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_New_South_Wales/h64vknzj">University of New South Wales</a>, <a href="/facts/Sandia_National_Laboratories/LYsKDj45">Sandia National Laboratories</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_Melbourne/KbwoHgto">University of Melbourne</a>, <a href="/facts/Kavli_Institute_for_Theoretical_Physics/7T8sch5B">Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics</a> in Santa Barbara, Institute for Theoretical Physics in Beijing, and Microsoft Station Q Research Center.
<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a>

<h2 id="books">Books</h2>
<ul><li>Das Sarma, Sankar; <a href="/facts/Aron_Pinczuk/mSyYvXwR">Pinczuk, Aron</a> (2008). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9fwZHWGwE5YC">Perspectives in Quantum Hall Effects:: Novel Quantum Liquids in Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Structures</a>. Wiley. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-471-11216-7.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Sankar Das Sarma". International Centre for Theoretical Sciences. Retrieved August 30, 2018. <a href="https://www.icts.res.in/people/sankar-das" target="_blank">https://www.icts.res.in/people/sankar-das</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Das Sarma, Sankar". Department of Physics University of Maryland. Retrieved August 30, 2018. <a href="https://umdphysics.umd.edu/people/faculty/current/item/114-dassarma.html" target="_blank">https://umdphysics.umd.edu/people/faculty/current/item/114-dassarma.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Sankar Das Sarma". International Centre for Theoretical Sciences. Retrieved August 30, 2018. <a href="https://www.icts.res.in/people/sankar-das" target="_blank">https://www.icts.res.in/people/sankar-das</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Condensed Matter Theory Center webpage". Department of Physics University of Maryland. Retrieved August 30, 2018. <a href="https://www.physics.umd.edu/cmtc/" target="_blank">https://www.physics.umd.edu/cmtc/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"Das Sarma Receives Third Consecutive Honor as Influential Researcher". University of Maryland. November 18, 2016. <a href="https://umdphysics.umd.edu/about-us/news/department-news/1226-das-sarma-receives-third-consecutive-honor-as-influential-researcher.html" target="_blank">https://umdphysics.umd.edu/about-us/news/department-news/1226-das-sarma-receives-third-consecutive-honor-as-influential-researcher.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Das Sarma, Sankar; Freedman, Michael; Nayak, Chetan (2005). "Topologically Protected Qubits from a Possible Non-Abelian Fractional Quantum Hall State". Physical Review Letters. 94 (16): 166802. arXiv:cond-mat/0412343. Bibcode:2005PhRvL..94p6802D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.166802. PMID 15904258. S2CID 8773427. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Nayak, Chetan; Simon, Steven H.; Stern, Ady; Freedman, Michael; Sankar Das Sarma (2007). "Topological Quantum Computation review article in Reviews of Modern Physics, 2008". Reviews of Modern Physics. 80 (3): 1083. arXiv:0707.1889. Bibcode:2008RvMP...80.1083N. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.80.1083. S2CID 119628297. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Adam, Shaffique; Hwang, E. H.; Galitski, V. M.; Sarma, S. Das (November 20, 2007). "A self-consistent theory for graphene transport". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (47): 18392–18397. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10418392A. doi:10.1073/pnas.0704772104. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2141788. PMID 18003926. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2141788" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2141788</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Adam, S.; Hwang, E.H.; Rossi, E.; Das Sarma, S. (2009). "Theory of charged impurity scattering in two-dimensional graphene". Solid State Communications. 149 (27–28): 1072–1079. arXiv:0812.1795. Bibcode:2009SSCom.149.1072A. doi:10.1016/j.ssc.2009.02.041. ISSN 0038-1098. S2CID 330571. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Das Sarma, S.; Adam, Shaffique; Hwang, E. H.; Rossi, Enrico (2011). "Electronic transport in two-dimensional graphene". Reviews of Modern Physics. 83 (2): 407–470. arXiv:1003.4731. Bibcode:2011RvMP...83..407D. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.83.407. S2CID 118565433. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Sun, Kai; Gu, Zhengcheng; Katsura, Hosho; Das Sarma, S. (June 6, 2011). "Nearly Flatbands with Nontrivial Topology". Physical Review Letters. 106 (23): 236803. arXiv:1012.5864. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.236803. PMID 21770533. S2CID 22738426. <a href="https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.236803" target="_blank">https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.236803</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Lutchyn, Roman M.; Sau, Jay D.; Das Sarma, S. (2010). "Majorana Fermions and a Topological Phase Transition in Semiconductor-Superconductor Heterostructures". Physical Review Letters. 105 (7): 077001. arXiv:1002.4033. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.077001. <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.077001" target="_blank">https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.077001</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Mark Braunstein. "Microsoft Advances Quantum Computing: How Did They Do It?". LinkedIn. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/microsoft-advances-quantum-computing-how-did-do-mark-braunstein-aa2de/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/microsoft-advances-quantum-computing-how-did-do-mark-braunstein-aa2de/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Lewton, Thomas. "The Near-Magical Mystery of Quasiparticles". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved April 8, 2021. <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/like-magic-physicists-conjure-curious-quasiparticles-20210324/" target="_blank">https://www.quantamagazine.org/like-magic-physicists-conjure-curious-quasiparticles-20210324/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Sau, Jay D.; Lutchyn, Roman M.; Tewari, Sumanta; Das Sarma, S. (2010). "Generic New Platform for Topological Quantum Computation Using Semiconductor Heterostructures". Physical Review Letters. 104 (4): 040502. arXiv:0907.2239. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.040502. <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.040502" target="_blank">https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.040502</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Sau, Jay D.; Tewari, Sumanta; Lutchyn, Roman M.; Stanescu, Tudor D.; Das Sarma, S. (2010). "Non-Abelian quantum order in spin-orbit-coupled semiconductors: Search for topological Majorana particles in solid-state systems". Physical Review B. 82 (21): 214509. arXiv:1006.2829. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.82.214509. <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.82.214509" target="_blank">https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.82.214509</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Microsoft Quantum (2023). "InAs-Al hybrid devices passing the topological gap protocol". Physical Review B. 107 (24): 245423. arXiv:2207.02472. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423. <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423" target="_blank">https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">"Microsoft Station Q". Microsoft News. Microsoft. <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/stories/stationq/" target="_blank">https://news.microsoft.com/stories/stationq/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Sankar Das Sarma open-in-new

Sankar Das Sarma