Geneva Laurita
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Associations
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Bonney Science Center, Room 385
About
Bachelor of Science, Chemistry: University of Northern Colorado
PhD, Chemistry: Oregon State University
Postdoctoral Experience: University of California, Santa Barbara
About me:
I teach courses in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department, including Atomic and Molecular Structure (CHEM 107), Chemical Reactivity (CHEM 108), Inorganic Chemistry (CHEM 215), Advanced Topics in Inorganic Chemistry (CHEM 316), and Chemical Synthesis and Reactivity (CHEM s42). I have also taught several STEM Scholars courses in the past, including the first year seminar (FYS) in the 2021-2022 academic year.
My research interests focus on understanding the structure—property relationships of inorganic solid state materials, particularly those of relevance to energy and electronics-related technology. Through understanding the arrangement of the atoms in a material, we can explain how atomic interactions give rise to various physical properties, such as how a material interacts with light or conducts electricity. I am particularly interested in utilizing advanced neutron and synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques to gain a detailed understanding of the structure of a material. Research in my laboratory focuses on solid state synthesis and characterization techniques with an emphasis on scattering experiments performed at national laboratories.
Video: Why is solid state chemistry such an interesting field of science?
Video: Pyrochlores – What are they and why do we study them?
Student Research:
Video: Why I’m so passionate about undergraduate research
If you are a student at Bates and are interested in performing research in my group, please fill out the following application form.
Applications will be reviewed by August 15th for fall independent research, by November 15th for winter independent research, and by April 1st for summer research. I typically have room for up to two independent researchers each semester (depending on the number of thesis students), and up to six summer researchers (depending on the available funding).
Current research opportunities: Please check back for Summer 2025 opportunities!
Letters of Recommendation:
If you would like a letter of recommendation from me, please fill out the following request form. Please note that I require at least two weeks notice prior to the submission deadline.
Advising:
If you are one of my major or minor advisees, please complete the following form prior to any advising meetings. If you have recently requested me as an advisor, please complete the following form.
Information on the Research and Teaching Internship at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution:
The Laurita Lab at Bates College seeks applicants for two (2) graduate (PhD) student internships offering an opportunity to gain exposure to teaching and conducting research at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI). Click HERE for the complete description.
This project is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2240813 – CAREER: Confluence of magnetic and electric dipoles on the pyrochlore lattice, PI: Geneva Laurita, PhD.
Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
News:
Awarded an NSF CAREER Award on pyrochlore materials [link to Bates College press coverage]
Interview with Brookhaven National Lab: S. Kossman, NSLS-II User Profile: Geneva Laurita, Bates College (2021) [link to article]
Highlight as an ”emerging investigator”: J. Vela and E. Weiss, Periodic TableTalks: The Elements Never Go Out of Style, Inorg. Chem. 60 (2021) 6957–6963 [doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c01094]
Bates-Affiliated Publications:
Complete list of publications, including submitted and in press.
Names in bold indicate Bates undergraduate student
19. U Dang, J. O’Hara, H. A. Evans, D. Olds, J. Chamorro, D. Hickox-Young, G. Laurita, and R. T. Macaluso, Vacancy driven disorder and elevated dielectric response in the pyrochlore Pb1.5Nb2O6.5. Inorg. Chem. 61 (2022)18601–18610 [DOI:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c03031]
18. D. Hickox-Young, G. Laurita, Q. N. Meier, D. Olds, N. A. Spaldin, M. R. Norman, and J. M. Rondinelli. Local structure and its implications for the relaxor ferroelectric Cd2Nb2O7. Phy. Rev. Res. 4 (2022) 033187. [DOI:10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.033187]
17. O. Bailey, S. Husremovic, M. Murphy, J. Ross, J. Gong, D. Olds, and G. Laurita. Compositional Influence of Local and Long-Range Polarity in the Frustrated Pyrochlore System Bi2-xRExTi2O7 (RE = Y3+ Ho3+). J. Mater. Chem. C 10 (2022) 13886 – 13895. DOI: 10.1039/D2TC01328B
16. C. Chepkemboi∗, K. Jorgensen∗, J. Sato∗, and G. Laurita. [∗equal contributions] Strategies and
considerations for least squares analysis of total scattering data. ACS Omega 7 (2022) 14402–14411. DOI:10.1021/acsomega.2c01285
15. G. Laurita and R. Seshadri. Chemistry, Structure, and Function of Lone Pairs in Extended Solids. Acc. Chem. Res. 55 (2022) 1004–1014 DOI:10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00741
14. Q. N. Meier, D. Hickox-Young, G. Laurita, N. A. Spaldin, J. M. Rondinelli, and M. R. Norman. Leggett Modes Accompanying Crystallographic Phase Transitions. Phys. Rev. X 12 (2022) 011024 DOI:10.1103/PhysRevX.12.011024
13. M. Saber, M. Preefer, S. Kolli, W. Zhang, G. Laurita, B. Dunn, R. Seshadri, and A. Van der Ven. The role of electronic structure on Li-ordering and chemical strain in the fast charging Wadsley-Roth phase PNb9O25. Chem. Mater. 33 (2021) 7755–7766. DOI:10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c02059
12. E. Zoghlin, J. Schmehr, C. Holgate, R. Dally, G. Laurita, C. Levi, and S. D. Wilson. Evaluating the Effects of Structural Disorder on the Magnetic Properties of Nd2Zr2O7 Phys. Rev. Mater. 5 (2021) 084403. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.5.084403
11. E. Zoghlin, Z. Porter, S. Britner, S. Husremovic, Y. Choi, D. Haskel, G. Laurita, and S. Wilson, Mapping the structural, magnetic and electronic behavior of (Eu1-xCax)2Ir2O7 across a metal-insulator transition, J. Phys. Condens. Matter, 33 (2020) 055601. DOI:10.1088/1361-648X/abbf2b
10. J. N. Tang, D. M. Crook, G. Laurita, and M. A. Subramanian, Vacancy tuning in Li, V-substituted lyonsites, Solvent Extr. Ion Exc. 38, (2020) 656-680. DOI:10.1080/07366299.2020.1780705
9. U. Dang, W. Zaheer, W. Zhou, A. Kandel, M. Orr, R. Schwenz, G. Laurita, S. Banerjee, R. Macaluso, Lattice Anharmonicity of Stereochemically Active Lone Pairs Controls Thermochromic Band Gap Reduction of PbVO3Cl. Chem. Mater. 32 (2020) 7404–7412. DOI:10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c02342
8. M. L. Robinson, E. Whitaker, L. Jin, M. A. Hayward, and G. Laurita, Evidence of Paracrystalline Cation Order in the Ruddlesden–Popper Phase LaSr3NiRuO8 through Neutron Total Scattering Techniques. Inorg. Chem. 59 (2020) 3026-3033. DOI:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b03382
7. G. Laurita, D. Puggioni, D. Hickox-Young, M. W. Gaultois, L. K. Lamontagne, K. Page, J. Rondinelli, and R. Seshadri, Uncorrelated Bi off-centering and the insulator-to-metal transition in ruthenium A2Ru2O7 pyrochlores. Phys. Rev. Mater. 3 (2019) 095003. [DOI:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.3.095003]
6. G. Laurita, D. Hickox-Young, S. Husremovic, J. Li, A. W. Sleight, R. T. Macaluso, J. M. Rondinelli, and M. A. Subramanian, Covalency-Driven Structural Evolution in the Polar Pyrochlore Series Cd2Nb2O7-xSx. Chem. Mater. 31 (2019) 7626-7637. [DOI:10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b02466]
5. Z. Porter, E. Zoghlin, S. Britner, S. Husremovic, J. P. C. Ruff, Y. Choi, D. Haskel, G. Laurita, and S. Wilson, Evolution of structure and magnetism across the metal-insulator transition in the pyrochlore iridate (Nd1-xCax)2Ir2O7, Phys. Rev. B. 100 (2019) 054409. [DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.100.054409]
4. E. Schueller, G. Laurita, D. Fabini, C. Stoumpos, M. Kanatzidis, and R. Seshadri, Crystal structure evolution and notable thermal expansion in hybrid perovskites formamidinium tin iodide and formamidinium lead bromide, Inorg. Chem. 57 (2018) 804-810. [DOI:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b02576]
3. D. Fabini, T. A. Siaw, C. Stoumpos, G. Laurita, D. Olds, K. Page, J. Hu, M. Kanatzidis, S. Han, and R. Seshadri, Universal dynamics of molecular reorientation in hybrid lead iodide perovskites, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139 (2017) 16875-16884. [DOI:10.1021/jacs.7b09536]
2. C. Cozzan, G. Laurita, M. W. Gaultois, M. Cohen, A. A. Mikhailovsky, M. Balasubramanian, and R. Seshadri, Compositional control of emission color and thermal stability in the green-emitting -SiAlON:Eu2+ phsophor, J. Mater. Chem. C 5 (2017) 10039–10046. [DOI:10.1039/C7TC03039H]
1. M. L. C. Buffon, G. Laurita, L. Lamontagne, E. Levin, S. Mooraj, D. L. Lloyd, N. White, T. M. Pollock, and R. Seshadri, Thermoelectric performance and the role of anti-site disorder in the 24-electron Heusler TiFe2Sn, J. Phys. Condensed Matt. 29 (2017) 405702(17). [DOI:10.1088/1361-648X/aa81e7]