Condensed Matter & Materials Physics
Casey Clark
Computing the hidden topology of disordered quantum materials.
I am a PhD candidate at the University of Utah working in condensed matter and materials physics, in the Liu and Sparks groups. My research focuses on topology in disordered quantum materials — specifically, amorphous topological insulators, in which nontrivial band topology persists despite the loss of crystalline order. Using first-principles electronic-structure theory, tight-binding models, real-space topological markers, and machine-learning approaches, I study how disorder reshapes the quantum and electronic properties of crystalline materials — with an eye toward robust, device-relevant materials.
Research interests
Topology in disordered systems
Can topological protection persist once crystalline symmetry is broken? I look for the measurable signatures of nontrivial topology — Berry curvature, topological markers, topological phase transitions — that survive in disordered solids.
First-principles structure–property design
How do composition, strain, local environments, and disorder reshape a material's electronic structure? I connect the real-space atomic structure to quantum behavior with DFT, tight-binding and Wannier models, and machine-learning approaches.
Geometric-engineered altermagnetism
Can altermagnetic order be designed into a non-magnetic crystal through geometry alone? I probe whether an antidot superlattice patterned into monolayer graphene hosts intrinsic altermagnetism.
Education & research
PhD · Materials Science
2025 – present · expected 2028University of Utah
Disordered topological quantum materials — discovering 3D amorphous topological insulators with first-principles methods, tight-binding models, real-space invariants, and machine-learned interatomic potentials.
Advised in the Liu Group · Sparks Group
MS · Physical Chemistry
2023 – 2024University of Oregon
Photocatalytic metal nanoclusters in MOFs — investigated the photocatalytic potential of encapsulated metal nanoparticles in MOFs through DFT.
Advised in the Hendon Group
BS · Biochemistry
2021 – 2022University of Utah
Biologically relevant molecular dynamics — built, equilibrated, and analyzed protein systems with the AMBER suite to benchmark force-field accuracy through RMSD and fractional-helicity analysis.
Research in the Cheatham Group
Methods & tools
Publications
KnowMat: An Agentic Approach to Transforming Unstructured Materials Science Literature into Structured Data
Integrating Materials and Manufacturing Innovation (2026)
MOF-encapsulation of metal nanoparticles alters the d-band center
Evaluating the accuracy of the AMBER protein force fields in modeling dihydrofolate reductase structures
Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics (2022)