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Special Topics : Graphene : Francisco Guinea

AUTHOR COMMENTARIES - From Special Topics

Graphene - December 2008
Interview Date: December 2008
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Francisco Guinea
From the Special Topic of Graphene

According to our Special Topics analysis of graphene research over the past decade, the scientist who ranks at #2 in terms of total number of papers is Dr. Francisco Guinea, with 47 papers cited a total of 1,091 times. Four of these papers also appear among the 20 most-cited papers over the past decade. Eighteen of these papers are classified as Highly Cited Papers in Essential Science IndicatorsSM from Thomson Reuters.


Dr. Guinea is a Research Professor in the Department of Condensed Matter Theory of the Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, which is part of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC).

In the interview below, he talks with ScienceWatch.com about his graphene research.

  Would you tell us a bit about your educational background and research experiences? 

I did my undergraduate studies, and then obtained my Ph.D. in Spain, way back in the late '70s. At that time there were a few good groups doing research in physics in Spain, but, in general, science lagged well behind the rest of the developed world. I was fortunate to obtain a Fulbright grant, so I could go to an excellent place, the ITP, Institute for Theoretical Physics (now KITP), in Santa Barbara, California. I have tried ever since to stay alert to new developments in as many areas of physics and science in general as possible, and I have also done my best to overcome the difficulties encountered when tackling new problems.

  What first attracted you to work in graphene? What's so special about graphene? 

"One of the fascinating properties of graphene is that some types of structural deformations influence the motion of electrons within it in the same manner as the electromagnetic field does in empty space."

Graphene is a lot of fun for many reasons. It relates to almost all interesting problems in condensed matter and statistical physics, and it has also fascinating connections to field theory, and even cosmology. Besides, there is a general consensus about the general models to be used, so that there is not the confusion typical of many new topics in condensed matter physics and materials science. If that is not enough, graphene seems to have real and useful applications.

  What would you say is the main focus of your research?

I am trying to balance the fun of solving new and challenging theoretical problems with the usefulness to the broad community. Graphene has unique properties which have not been considered before, and which require new theoretical concepts, like the special connection between the shape and the structural properties on one hand, and the electronic properties.

  Your most-cited original paper in our analysis is the 2006 Physical Review B article, "Electronic properties of disordered two-dimensional carbon." What sort of impact has this paper had on the field?

My colleagues and I were among the first who thought that graphene was going to have many novel properties. We explored a number of these features in that paper, and highlighted their difference with other, better-understood materials.

  One of your more recent papers is also from Physical Review B, "Gauge field induced by ripples in graphene." Would you walk our readers through this paper—its goals, findings, and significance?

One of the fascinating properties of graphene is that some types of structural deformations influence the motion of electrons within it in the same manner as the electromagnetic field does in empty space. If the two-dimensional graphene layer is not completely flat, the electrons feel an effective magnetic field, whose strength depends on the curvature. Moreover, it has been observed that typical graphene samples show ripples on many scales.

"Graphene is a lot of fun for many reasons."

In the paper mentioned, we tried to quantify the effect of this novel field. We showed that it can have observable consequences, changing the electronic structure in new ways.

  What are your hopes for this field for the future?

I am very optimistic. Despite the huge research effort done so far, a number of very interesting and difficult problems remain unexplored. Besides, experiments continue showing new and unexpected behavior, which are waiting for explanations.

  What would you like the "take-away lesson" about your research to be?

In general, that condensed matter physics is a very rich and challenging field, where interesting problems appear all the time. In order to be able to contribute on the theoretical side, a broad background and a working knowledge of different techniques help a lot.

Francisco (Paco) Guinea
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid
CSIC
Madrid, Spain

Francisco Guinea's current most-cited paper in Essential Science Indicators, with 259 cites:
Peres NMR, Guinea F, Neto AHC, "Electronic properties of disordered two-dimensional carbon," Phys. Rev. B 73(12): art. no. 125411, March 2006. Source: Essential Science Indicators from Thomson Reuters.

Keywords: graphene, condensed matter physics, statistical physics, materials science, properties, applications, structural deformations, electrons.

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Special Topics : Graphene : Francisco Guinea

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