Rate My Professor Scott Dietrich

Scott Dietrich, Ph.D., serves as Assistant Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at Villanova University, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He directs the 2D Materials Laboratory, where research investigates the nanoscale motions and interactions of charge carriers in van der Waals materials, such as graphene reduced to single-atom-thick sheets. His work explores highly-interacting electronic phases of two-dimensional electron systems that emerge at high magnetic fields and extremely low temperatures, employing microwave transmission spectroscopy to characterize collective electron behaviors that yield novel properties including superconductivity and electron coalescence. Dietrich earned his Ph.D. from the City University of New York and a B.A. from Boston University in 2010. Prior to Villanova, his doctoral research focused on quantum nonlinear transport in dense, mobile 2D electron systems.

In recognition of his contributions, Dietrich received the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award in 2022, providing a five-year, $594,000 grant for the project 'Microwave Transmission Spectroscopy of Van der Waals Heterostructures,' aimed at bridging fundamental physics with engineering applications in future electronic devices. Additional funding includes a 2024 Research Catalyst Grant with the Department of Mechanical Engineering for bio-inspired underwater adhesives and a Small Research Grant for structural phase nanopatterning of van der Waals materials. His publications encompass 'Hall signal-dominated microwave transmission through graphene-loaded waveguides' (Physical Review B, 2025), 'Wafer-Scale Full-Coverage Self-Limiting Assembly of Particles on Flexible Substrates' (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2022), 'Dynamics of quantal heating in electron systems with discrete spectra' (Physical Review B, 2015), and several others on quantum oscillations and nonlinear responses in 2D electron systems from 2012-2015. Dietrich mentors undergraduate students via the Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellowship (VURF), Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), and Match Research Program projects on topics like quantum Hall effects in graphene and ferritin heteropolymers. He has delivered invited talks, including a Physics Colloquium at Drexel University on electron solids in graphene, enhancing his impact in condensed matter physics and nanoelectronics.