My research activities focus on the application of quantum mechanics for calculating material properties. I am interested in several fields, but at present I am concentrating on developing new organic materials for photovoltaic applications, understanding high-temperature superconductor properties using the ab initio approach, and studying nanomaterials such as nanotubes.

I use a theoretical approach that calls on supercomputer capacities to simulate the materials studied. These methods are on the cutting edge of recent developments, like density-functional theory and methods based on Green's function.

When a semiconductor material absorbs a photon, an electron is excited into the conduction band, leaving a hole in the valence band. The Coulomb interaction between the electron and the hole generates a bound state called an exciton, which largely controls the optical properties of semiconductors. In addition, when the environment is structured on a nanometric scale, the optical response of the semiconductors is radically altered by quantum confinement.

My research program revolves around the dynamics of excitons when they are created in nanostructured environments, so as to describe how the energy is absorbed and redistributed as part of a representation in terms of collective excitations. Although the subject is fundamental in nature, it is closely related to the development of excitonics, an emergent field that aims to design and manufacture better optical devices for applications ranging from lighting to quantum computing.

I'm a condensed matter theorist working as an Assistant Professor at Université de Montréal, in Québec, Canada. I'm interested in the unsual states of matter that emerge (usually) at low temperature, where quantum mechanics dictates the rules.

I hold a Canada Research Chair in Quantum Phase Transitions. 

I'm a member of the Centre de Recherches Mathématiques (CRM), a major hub for the mathematical sciences (including mathematical physics), located on the Université de Montréal campus.