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Department of Physics College of Arts and Sciences

Ilias E. Perakis

Professor and Department Chair iperakis@uab.edu
ESH 4149
(205) 996-9870
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Research and Teaching Interests: Theoretical & Computational Condensed Matter and Optical Physics; Modeling and Simulation of time-dependent nonlinear phenomena and quantum dynamics far from equilibrium; Ultra-fast Optical properties of Condensed Matter Systems; Quantum Design and Steering of Non-Equilibrium Materials States using phase-coherent, Terahertz-time-periodic Electromagnetic Fields; Coherent Control and Quantum Tomography of higher correlation in Topological and Superconducting Quantum States; Quantum Kinetic Simulations and Data Analysis of Multi-dimensional Coherent Ultrafast Spectroscopy Datasets

Office Hours: By appointment only

Education:

  • B.S., National Technical University of Athens, Greece, Electrical Engineering
  • M.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Physics
  • Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Physics
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at Rutgers University, Department of Physics
  • Postdoctoral Member of AT&T Bell Laboratories Theory Division

Ilias Perakis is Professor and Chair of Physics at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He is an OSA Fellow and past recipient of the NSF CAREER award. His undergraduate degree is in Electrical Engineering and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has served as Professor of Physics at Vanderbilt University, the University of Crete, and the Foundation for Research & Technology-Hellas. He was chair of the Department of Materials Science & Technology and Associate chair and Director of Undergraduate studies at U. of Crete. He spent four years as postdoc at Bell Laboratories and Rutgers University.

Ilias’ mission is to :

  1. advance needed research and educational paradigms that expand traditional disciplinary boundaries,
  2. solve grand challenge complex problems that are important for science and pressing for society,
  3. educate and develop creative and compassionate problem solvers and life-long learners, and
  4. facilitate an inclusive environment where happy faculty, students, postdocs, and staff can succeed.

Ilias’ vision is a research-driven, student-centric, job-focused 21st century department that synergistically pushes transformative Grand Challenge research while developing a diverse STEMM workforce with self-efficacy and data fluency. He currently leads UAB-Physics as it expands to become an internationally recognized center of excellence.

Ilias has restructured the Physics major into five threads designed to provide the skills required for 21st century careers tied to Grand Challenge problems facing science and society. Together with Dr. Lauren Rast, he launched project RAISE, Remotely Accessible Interdisciplinary STEMM Education, to explore innovative new ways of using emerging educational technologies to broaden participation in STEMM in ways that are not limited by geography and social, gender and economic disparities and achieve digital fluency. In the past, he designed a Scientist Citizen initiative and an active-learning environment where students try to figure out Bobo.

As a recognition of success, the Department of Physics received the 2023 American Physical Society’s (APS) Improving Undergraduate Physics Education Award as a role model for liberal arts colleges for improving the educational experiences of undergraduate students. This APS national award recognizes continuing success in recruiting a high number of physics majors, the research opportunities provided by our faculty, the development of numerous major tracks that prepare students for a wide range of career paths, and the department's dedication to diversity. This article highlights why UAB Physics is special.

Ilias' research focuses on theory, modeling & computation for optical manipulation of quantum materials far from equilibrium. He studies laser-driven superconducting, magnetic and topological systems and nanostructures for physics, quantum information science, and next-generation device applications. He uses time-dependent quantum many-body theory and numerical simulation to help design and interpret experiments that use state-of-the-art multi-dimensional spectroscopy tools. These new spectroscopic tools allow temporal, spectral, and spatial super-resolution under extreme conditions, for design, manipulation and imaging of advanced materials properties on THz/nm/fs extreme scales.