Five years in 49 minutes

I've had piles and piles of questions about the research that I did in gradschool, so here it is! Be careful what you wish for... About a year ago I defended my dissertation from UCSB in Materials, exploring, among other things, growth of a semiconductor called lead selenide, a narrow-gap material with a bright (ba-dum-tss) future in the realm of infrared optoelectronics. I hope you enjoy!

For more information than you could ever reasonably desire:
Viewers of the channel are probably going to be most interested in all the fun machines featured in chapter 2, "Experimental Methods"
- Molecular beam epitaxy (making crystals in ultra high vacuum)
- X-ray diffraction (explained with almost no math)
- Electron microscopy (many variants)

Music in this video:

[AlphaPhoenixChannel]

Viewers of the channel will probably be most interested in all the fun machines in Chapter 2: Experimental Methods, which talks about growing crystals with (and maintaining) an MBE system, X-ray diffractometry (explained with *almost* no math), and many many variants of electron microscopy. Enjoy!

[minervadev]

I think the most surprising thing about this was that I, whose best chemistry qualification is "did ok in high school, " could understand the whole thing. I assume that speaks to your skills as a science communicator more than anything! Thank you for publishing this, it's great to know the motivation behind the work we've seen so many snippets of. It's a shame we didn't get to see the q&a section too! but I imagine that's a more vulnerable and therefore personal part of the process. Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed it!

[andycremeans]

“That’s not going to be an energetically favorable thing to do” is my new phrase

[deefdragon]

Seeing those dislocations annihilate was genuinely really cool. I agree that that was one of the more amazing pieces of microscopy that you showed.

[Muphetballs]

Can't believe you thought this could be boring. I hated every moment of highschool because it wasn't as concise as it could be. This is perfect

[jortand]

As someone who is thinking about going into academia taking a masters etc. this will be fun to watch to get an idea of how these defences go.

[AlphaPhoenixChannel]

Viewers of the channel are probably going to be most interested in all the fun machines featured in Chapter 2, "Experimental Methods", which tackles crystal growth via Molecular Beam Epitaxy, X-ray diffraction (explained with almost no math), and many many variants of electron microscopy. The eagle eyed viewer may notice that graphics made for the lab and graphics made for youtube videos have slowly blended over time...

[AdityaMehendale]

I wish all PhD defenses were recorded like this and published. Congrats, Dr. AlphaPhoenix :)

[MusicBent]

The dislocation annihilation imaging was seriously cool. As an electrical engineer I really disliked my semiconductor physics class. I really do appreciate the Many decades of work in the field. I remember when GaN power transistors were prohibitively expensive, and now it’s in lots of our fast chargers.

Congrats on your accomplishment!! I think you did a great job presenting your work to multiple audiences. You got me excited at least

[gara]

As a student I feel the need to ask: what's next for you? Do you keep researching this topic, do you branch out? If so, how? Do you start with an idea by yourself or is it assigned?
And of course, congrats!

[xBris]

Congrats mate! I was grilled for 1.5 hours when I did my defense two years ago (I was only allowed to talk for 20 minutes, the rest was questions). And I guarantee that I looked way less professional doing it than you did. Good job doctor :) Also: I love how you plugged your YouTube channel *in your defense*. Classic move!

[schelsullivan]

I have followed your channel long enough that this talk felt like a refresher.

[TheBookDoctor]

The time-lapse of the dislocations moving around was just incredible, as was seeing two dislocations annihilate. Really amazing work.

[nikethunner]

As a applied material sciences engineer myself, this was extremely satisfying to watch. Very nice work.

[spargel]

I started my studies in materials science this/last year. And I already knew that what I learned in the first semester would be important for future semesters. Your video not only inspired me even more but also showed me directly that what I am now learning should never be forgotten because even in a doctoral thesis it cannot be done without the basics. Thank you very much for this video and congratulations on receiving your doctorate.

[mmhmnms]

the fact that I haven't touched any chem or physics in about 10-12 years and managed to follow along and understand what you were talking about is a testament to not only your presentation skills but your deep understanding of the subject matter. This didn't feel like a ~55 minute video at all!

[mozkitolife]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 You’re a highly engaging presenter. All your YouTube productions talking to a camera surely improved your ability to garner interest in your work and transfer information to an unseen audience.
To prove I watched the whole dissertation: 46:40 accidentally said 010 planes and a typo “peoperties”. Just pointing that out for fun.
I’m highly jealous of your chosen stream of research. I love thinking in spatial dimensions and the underlying physics allows the stimulation and flourishing of logical reasoning to solve problems. Unfortunately I chose Entomology which is based on an evolving system that’s constantly changing. Congratulations, Brian. Well deserved.

[Mo]

As someone who is specializing in the completely unrelated medical field, and whose only source of chemistry knowledge is undergrade chem, organic chemistry and biochem (as well as channels like yours). It is really impressive on your end that I was able to at least grasp like 90% of your presentation. You're genuinely amazing at this.

[redshifted]

Shouting out his YT channel in his dissertation defense. Absolute madlad.

[chase]

That 49 minutes flew by. I work in the computer networking field so completely unrelated to material sciences, with the exception of telecom lasers that is! You are astounding with your ability to break down extremely complex and specialized topics into a digestible format. I truly appreciate you making videos for all to watch, and for your contagious excitement towards the thing that grasp your interest.