News & Success Stories
We’re proud to celebrate the achievements and dedication of our growing team. Our group began its journey in August 2021, and since then, we’ve been advancing research and student success together.
Explore our group’s yearly highlights by clicking the year you’re interested in to discover our latest awards, major grants, conference presentations, and key milestones.
2025 So Far 2024 2023 2022 Our First Steps: Fall 2021
Student Honors
- Siam awarded the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Way to go, Siam, for earning this national honor! Check out the full story in KSU News.
- Siam named APS Student Ambassador. Congrats, Siam, for representing physics students nationwide! Read the story in CSM-Elements News on Instagram.
- Sulaiman Shaikh awarded the Birla Carbon Scholarship. Congratulations, Sulaiman, on this recognition!
- Siam selected as a Caltech WAVE Fellow. Fantastic achievement, Siam!
- Siam earns the Dr. V J Victor Memorial Endowed Scholarship. Great work, Siam!
The Group Heads to Ohio for the First Light & Matter Summer Internship!
KSU students Siam Sarower, Sulaiman Sheikh, and Eddie Harmon joined the first Light & Matter Summer Internship, working with Professors Nancy Sandler (OU) and Mahmoud Asmar (KSU) on cutting-edge theory. They also connected with OU’s graduate and undergraduate students and visited top experimental labs across campus—a fantastic kickoff to this collaborative program!
Discover more about the internship program here!
The Group Heads to Anaheim, California for the APS Global Physics Summit 2025
- Siam Sarower presented “Photo-induced One-dimensional Superlattices in Dirac-like Systems.” Check out the abstract here!
- Kieran MacDonald presented “Edge and Vortex States in Vortex-light Driven Massive Dirac Materials.” See the abstract here!
- Asmar presented “Light-polarization Effects on Photo-induced Vortex States in Massive Dirac Materials.” Read the abstract here!
Visit from State Representative M. Lim
Georgia State Representative Marvin Lim visited our group to learn about our research, connect with students, and highlight the importance of science in Georgia. We enjoyed sharing our work and community with him! Read more on X: @MarvinLimforGA.
Welcoming New Group Members
- We are delighted to welcome Eddie Harmon to the team!
- We’re excited to have Sulaiman Shaikh join our group!
Faculty Awards and Recognitions
- Asmar honored with the Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award at Kennesaw State University—read the full story in KSU News.
- Asmar recognized with the Teaching Excellence Award, College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), Kennesaw State University. See the story in KSU News.
- Asmar recognized among Externally Funded Researchers in CSM Honors . Read the story in KSU News.
Invited Talks
- Asmar talks about, “Light-Induced Vortex States and Magnetic Interactions in Quantum Materials,” at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Find out more here.
Grants
- Our group has secured major federal funding: Department Of Energy Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences — “Vortex Light-driven Structured Quantum Matter” ($799,804, 2025–2028). Explore the full story behind the grant in KSU News.
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2024
Congratulations to Our Graduates!
We’re proud to celebrate our students’ next chapters:
- Lauren I. Massaro is headed to Emory University for graduate studies in Physics—best of luck, Lauren!
- Connor Meese will continue his academic journey as a Physics graduate student at the University of Utah—good luck, Connor!
- Trevor Walsh begins graduate school in Physics at Ohio University—wishing you all the best, Trevor!
Student Honors 
- Lauren I. Massaro won the APS CUWiP Best Poster Award. Congratulations, Lauren, for winning best poster! Learn more at the GT CUWiP website.
- Siam Sarower receives the APS Doc Brown FPD Travel Award. Well done, Siam, for winning a competitive travel award! Find out more in KSU News.
- Siam's path in physics featured by KSU News.
The Group Travels to Minneapolis, Minnesota for APS March Meeting 2024
- Lauren I. Massaro presented “Photo-induced Multiply Quantized Vortex States in Dirac-like Materials.” Take a look at the abstract!
- Connor Meese presented “Photo-induced Vortex States in the Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.” Read the abstract here!
- Trevor Walsh presented “Harmonic Generation with Optical Vortex Beams.” View the full abstract here!
- Asmar presented “Light-driven High-order Topological Insulators.” Find the abstract here!
Other Talks & Presentations
- Siam Sarower presented a poster, “Structured Light-induced Superlattices in Graphene,” at the Birla Carbon Symposium, Kennesaw. Learn more at the CSM-Elements News.
- Siam’s inspiring story—was spotlighted in KSU News! Read the full story in KSU News.
- Lauren I. Massaro presented a poster, “Light-induced Multiply Quantized Vortex States in Dirac-like Materials,” at the APS CUWiP. Read the abstract at the CUWiP website.
Welcoming New Group Members
- We’re thrilled to have Kieran MacDonald join us this year!
Faculty Awards and Recognitions
- Asmar received the Outstanding Early Career Award, College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), KSU—read the full story at CSM-KSU News.
- Asmar received the Teaching Excellence Award, CSM, KSU. Find out more in KSU News.
- Asmar recognized in CSM Honors for Externally Funded Research. See the story in KSU News.
Invited Talks and Workshops
- Asmar participated as lecturer and invited speaker at the “Floquet Systems and Engineering” workshop at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Our group’s activities were also highlighted in UABC’s quarterly report (p. 118-119)—learn more here!
- Asmar presented “Photo-induced Multiply Quantized Vortex States in Dirac-like Materials” at the Workshop on Non-equilibrium Many-body Physics Beyond the Floquet Paradigm, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany. Find out more here.
- Asmar discusses “Vortex States and Magnetic Interactions in Light-driven Quantum Materials” during his colloquium at Mississippi State University. Learn more here.
- Asmar shared his research in a colloquium, “Photo-control of Quantum Matter,” at Georgia State University. Catch the full talk on YouTube here.
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2023
Student Honors
- Connor Meese received an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) . Way to go, Connor! Learn more here.
- Lauren I. Massaro earned the Southeastern Section of the APS (SESAPS) Best Undergraduate Poster Award. Way to go, Lauren! Read the story in SESAPS news.
- Lauren received a SESAPS Travel Grant. Congrats, Lauren! Read the story in CSM-Elements News on Instagram.
- Siam Sarower awarded the Birla Carbon Scholarship. Congratulations, Siam, on this well-deserved recognition! See more here.
- Lauren awarded the Dr. V J Victor Memorial Endowed Scholarship. Great job, Lauren!
The Team Goes to Las Vegas: APS March Meeting 2023
- Lauren I. Massaro presented “Floquet Engineered Vortex States in Dirac-like Systems.” Explore the abstract here!
- Connor Meese presented “Valley Dependence of Photo-induced Vortex States in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.” Learn more in the abstract!
- Hunter Ketels presented “Bicircular Light-induced Space Symmetry Breaking in Topological Insulating States.” Read the abstract here!
- Asmar presented “Photo-induced Non-collinear Magnetic Exchange Interactions in Rashba Magnetic Multilayers.” View the full abstract here.
Other Talks & Presentations
- Lauren presented a poster titled "Floquet-Induced Electronic Vortex States in Dirac-like Materials" at the Birla Carbon Symposium at Kennesaw State University. Her presentation highlighted how structured light can drive vortex-like states in 2D quantum materials, offering new ways to control quantum phases. Read more about the symposium and Lauren’s presentation here.
Welcoming New Group Members
- We’re pleased to welcome Trevor Walsh and the collaboration he brings!
Faculty Awards
- Asmar received the Faculty Showcase Poster Presentation Award from the College of Science and Mathematics at KSU. The poster introduced the condensed matter theory group and highlighted its research focus, student successes, and federal support. See more in CSM-Elements News on Instagram.
- Asmar honored in CSM’s Externally Funded Research Highlights. Read the full story in CSM-Elements News on Instagram.
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2022
Student Honors
- Lauren I. Massaro awarded the Birla Carbon Scholarship. Well done, Lauren, for earning this scholarship! Learn more about the scholarship here.
APS March Meeting in Chicago 2022
- Asmar presented “Floquet Engineering of Interlayer Exchange Interaction in a Rashba Magnetic Multilayer.” Read the abstract here!
Welcoming New Group Members
- We’re glad to have Hunter Ketels joining us this year!
- We’re excited to welcome Connor Meese to our team!
Invited Talks and Workshops
Asmar presented “Collinear and Non-collinear Magnetic Interactions in Light-driven Quantum Materials” at the following colloquia and workshops:
- Colloquium, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of South Carolina. Read more here.
- Workshop Presentation, Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico. Learn more here.
- Colloquium, Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico—learn more here (p. 231).
Grants
- Our group was awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation grant from the Division of Materials Research – Condensed Matter and Materials Theory program for the project “Quantum Vortex States and Non-collinear Magnetic Interactions in Light-driven Quantum Materials” ($159,653, 2022–2025). See how this grant supports our work in quantum light–matter interactions — full story in KSU News.
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Our First Steps: Fall 2021
Welcoming Our First Student
- Lauren I. Massaro became the first student to join our group, helping kickstart our research journey. Welcome, Lauren!
Talks and Workshops
- Asmar presented “Photo-Control of Quantum Materials” at the Department of Physics Colloquium, Kennesaw State University. Find out more here.
Theoretical Condensed Matter Group Is Born at KSU!
Our group was established in August 2021. Focused on cutting-edge research in theoretical condensed matter physics and quantum materials, the group launched with a vision to explore light–matter interactions and to support student-driven discovery.
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