Biography

Dr Stefano Agrestini was a postdoctoral research assistant in the Superconductivity and Magnetism Group from January 2005 to December 2007. His work was supported by a grant from the EPSRC . After working as a Research Fellow in the group of Professor Liu Hao Tjeng at the Max-Planck Institut CPfS, and the BOREAS beamline on ALBA in Spain, Stefano is now a staff member and beamline scientist on I21 at Diamond.

Research Interests while at Warwick:

1) low-dimensional and geometrically frustrated magnetic systems such as the hexagonal perovskite Ca₃Co₂O₆ and isostructural (Sr,Ca)₃ABO₆ showing unconventional magnetic structure with strange magnetization jumps, reminiscent of Quantum Tunneling of Magnetization (QTM), and large thermoelectric power and magnetoresistance.

2) high-T_c superconductive materials and related intermetallic systems

3) metal-insulating transition in highly correlated systems

Experimental techniques employed:

1) Powder samples synthesis in furnace under high-pure Argon and Oxygen atmosphere

2) Single crystal growth using flux method

3) X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS and XANES)

4) High resolution powder x-ray and neutron diffraction (Rietveld analysis)

5) Single crystal x-ray and neutron diffraction

6) Magnetic X-ray scattering

7) Characterisation of samples at low temperature using a range of techniques including transport, magnetic, thermoelectric power and specific heat measurements

Diffraction and X-ray absorption measurements carried out at:

1) Elettra Storage Ring in Trieste

2) European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble

3) ISIS (UK)

4) LLB (France)

5) ILL (France)

6) PSI (Switzerland)

7) BESSY (Germany)

Write to

Contact Details

Telephone
+44 1235 77 80 06

E-Mail
Stefano.Agrestini[at]diamond.ac.uk

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