Massimiliano Di Ventra
Massimiliano Di Ventra is an American-Italian theoretical physicist who has made several contributions to Condensed-Matter Physics, especially quantum transport in atomic and nanoscale systems,[1] non-equilibrium statistical mechanics of many-body systems,[2] DNA sequencing by tunneling,[3] and memelements.[4] He suggested the MemComputing paradigm of computation,[5][6][7] and with his group derived various analytical properties of memristive networks, including the Caravelli-Traversa-Di Ventra equation,[8] an exact equation for the evolution of the internal memory in a network of memristive devices.
Massimiliano Di Ventra | |
---|---|
Nationality | American-Italian |
Alma mater | EPFL |
Known for | Transport in nanoscale systems DNA sequencing by tunneling |
Awards | NSF Early CAREER Award 2020 Feynman prize for Theory |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Physics, Nanotechnology |
Institutions | UCSD |
Education
Di Ventra obtained his undergraduate degree in Physics summa cum laude from the University of Trieste (Italy) in 1991 and did his PhD studies at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) in 1993–1997.[9] He has been visiting scientist at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center and research assistant professor at Vanderbilt University before joining the physics department of Virginia Tech in 2000 as assistant professor.[10] He was promoted to associate professor in 2003 and moved to the physics department of the University of California, San Diego, in 2004 where he was promoted to full professor in 2006.[11]
Research
Di Ventra has published more than 200 papers in refereed journals (he was named 2018 Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics), has 7 granted patents (3 foreign), co-edited the textbook Introduction to Nanoscale Science and Technology (Springer-Verlag, 2004) [12] for undergraduate students, he is single author of the graduate-level textbook Electrical Transport in Nanoscale Systems (Cambridge University Press, 2008),[13] of the trade book The Scientific Method: Reflections from a Practitioner (Oxford University Press, 2018),[14] the monograph MemComputing: Fundamentals and Applications (Oxford University Press, 2022),[7] and co-author of the SpringerBriefs in Physics book Memristors and Memelements: Mathematics, Physics, and Fiction (Springer, 2023).[15] He is the co-founder of MemComputing, Inc.
Controversies
Di Ventra was accused of retaliation against a striking UAW graduate student worker in his lab in December 2022.[16][17] As part of labor negotiations, the union dropped all unfair labor practice charges against the UC when the strike ended, including the charge based on accusations against Di Ventra.[18] The union is now pursuing this case through the grievance process, it is the only known case in the physics department where retaliation for the legally protected withholding of labor has been alleged. Di Ventra suggests that the accusations are lies and that the unsatisfactory grade he gave his worker was simply for not performing classwork in a research credits course. However, his graduate student stated that, the course in question is a "placeholder" course that is required to participate in research work while being enrolled full-time with the university. He added that he was in good standing with Di Ventra before the strike, having received a good performance review prior to the strike and having been in the process of publishing with a reputable physics journal when the strike began.[19]
Books
M. Di Ventra and Y.V. Pershin, Memristors and Memelements: Mathematics, Physics, and Fiction (Springer, 2023).
M. Di Ventra, MemComputing: Fundamentals and Applications (Oxford University Press, 2022).
M. Di Ventra, The Scientific Method: Reflections from a Practitioner (Oxford University Press, 2018).
M. Di Ventra, Electrical Transport in Nanoscale Systems (Cambridge University Press, 2008).
M. Di Ventra, S. Evoy, J.R. Heflin, eds., Introduction to Nanoscale Science and Technology (Springer, 2004).
References
- Electrical Transport in Nanoscale Systems (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
- Di Ventra, Massimiliano; D’Agosta, Roberto (June 1, 2007). "Stochastic Time-Dependent Current-Density-Functional Theory". Physical Review Letters. 98 (22): 226403. arXiv:cond-mat/0702272. Bibcode:2007PhRvL..98v6403D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.226403. PMID 17677867. S2CID 34327767 – via APS.
- Lagerqvist, J.; Zwolak, M.; Di Ventra, M. (2006). "Fast DNA Sequencing via Transverse Electronic Transport | Nano Letters". Nano Letters. 6 (4): 779–782. doi:10.1021/nl0601076. PMC 2556950. PMID 16608283.
- Di Ventra, Massimiliano; Pershin, Yuriy V.; Chua, Leon O. (October 14, 2009). "Circuit Elements With Memory: Memristors, Memcapacitors, and Meminductors". Proceedings of the IEEE. 97 (10): 1717–1724. arXiv:0901.3682. doi:10.1109/JPROC.2009.2021077. S2CID 7136764 – via IEEE Xplore.
- Di Ventra, Massimiliano; Pershin, Yuriy V. (April 14, 2013). "The parallel approach". Nature Physics. 9 (4): 200–202. arXiv:1211.4487. Bibcode:2013NatPh...9..200D. doi:10.1038/nphys2566. S2CID 126398506 – via www.nature.com.
- Traversa, Fabio Lorenzo; Di Ventra, Massimiliano (November 14, 2015). "Universal Memcomputing Machines". IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems. 26 (11): 2702–2715. arXiv:1405.0931. doi:10.1109/TNNLS.2015.2391182. PMID 25667360. S2CID 1406042 – via IEEE Xplore.
- Di Ventra, Massimiliano (2022-02-21). MemComputing: Fundamentals and Applications (1 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780192845320.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-284532-0.
- Caravelli; et al. (2017). "The complex dynamics of memristive circuits: analytical results and universal slow relaxation". Physical Review E. 95 (2): 022140. arXiv:1608.08651. Bibcode:2017PhRvE..95b2140C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.95.022140. PMID 28297937. S2CID 6758362.
- Atomic-scale study of the electronic properties of two-dimensional semiconducting systems. 1997.
- https://diventra.physics.ucsd.edu/
- https://diventra.physics.ucsd.edu/
- Introduction to Nanoscale Science and Technology. Nanostructure Science and Technology. 2004. doi:10.1007/b119185. ISBN 978-1-4020-7720-3 – via link.springer.com.
- "Electrical Transport in Nanoscale Systems | Condensed matter physics, nanoscience and mesoscopic physics".
- The Scientific Method: Reflections from a Practitioner (Oxford University Press, 2018)
- Memristors and Memelements – via link.springer.com.
- "KPBS Evening Edition — Friday, December 16, 2022" – via www.youtube.com.
- "UC and academic workers reach a tentative contract agreement". KPBS Public Media. December 17, 2022.
- Berkeleyside, Dec 23, 2022
- "UAW Accuses UCSD Professors of Giving TAs Poor Grades for Striking". Inside Higher Ed. Jan 27, 2023.