Nathaniel Stern is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University, focusing on the fundamental quantum interactions between photons, atoms, nanoscale structures, and magnetic materials. In his research group, Stern explores the novel optical, spin, and magnetic properties of integrated nanoscale and hybrid photonic systems — probing how light and matter interact at the smallest scales with implications for photonics, quantum information, and nanoscience.
This work builds on a foundation laid during his doctoral research at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he worked in the laboratory of Dr. David Awschalom studying electron and nuclear spin dynamics in semiconductors using time-resolved optical and electrical techniques. His graduate research included pioneering measurements of the spin Hall effect — a spontaneous generation of spin polarization from electron current flow requiring no magnetic materials or fields — demonstrating all-electrical spin generation in III-V and II-VI semiconductors at room temperature and across a variety of device geometries.
A Southern California native, Stern received his B.S. in Physics with Honors from Harvey Mudd College in 2003, where his undergraduate work on magnetism in ultra-thin magnetic materials earned him the LeRoy Apker Award from the American Physical Society. He subsequently completed a Richard C. Tolman Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship at Caltech before joining the Northwestern faculty, and has since been recognized with a Sloan Research Fellowship, an NSF Early Career Award, and a Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research.
