# Gregory A. Fiete
Gregory A. Fiete is an American theoretical condensed matter physicist, Professor of Physics at [Northeastern University](https://www.edgepedia.org/northeastern-university) in Boston, whose work spans topological quantum matter, strongly correlated electrons, and the magnetic behavior of chiral phonons. He received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE),[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) and his CV records receiving personal congratulations from President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony for the award.[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) His research seeks patterns in the coordinated quantum motions of electrons in solids and verifies them in real experiments.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) • [3](https://mrsec.utexas.edu/profiles/gregory-fiete)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current position | Professor of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston (since 2019)[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) • [4](https://cos.northeastern.edu/hes-on-a-quest-to-find-the-patterns-that-built-everything-around-us/) |
| Prior position | University of Texas at Austin, Assistant through Full Professor, August 2008 to December 2018[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) • [2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) |
| Education | B.S. (Highest Honors) Purdue, 1997; A.M. and Ph.D. in Physics, Harvard, 1999 and 2003[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) |
| Honors | PECASE, NSF CAREER, DARPA Young Faculty Award and Director's Fellowship, Simons Fellowship, Humboldt Bessel Research Award; APS Fellow and Outstanding Referee[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) • [2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) |
| Key paper | Spontaneous quantum Hall states in chirally stacked few-layer graphene (PRL 2011), about 147 citations per iCite[7](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.156801) |
| Research output | Over 70 refereed publications and more than 85 invited talks at the time of his CV[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) |
## Early life and education
Fiete earned a B.S. with Highest Honors in Honors Physics from [Purdue University](https://www.edgepedia.org/purdue-university) in June 1997. He moved to Harvard University, completing an A.M. in Physics in June 1999 and a Ph.D. in Physics in June 2003.[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/)
## Career
After his doctorate, Fiete spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the [Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics](https://www.edgepedia.org/kavli-institute-for-theoretical-physics) (KITP) at UC Santa Barbara, from January 2004 to August 2006, followed by the Lee A. DuBridge Prize Fellowship in Theoretical Physics at Caltech from September 2006 to August 2008.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) • [2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/)
In August 2008 he joined the [University of Texas at Austin](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-texas-at-austin) as Assistant Professor, becoming Associate Professor in September 2013 and later Full Professor; ORCID records his UT tenure as running from August 15, 2008 to December 31, 2018.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) • [2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) In 2019, after ten years in Austin, he joined Northeastern University, where he leads a group of theoretical physicists studying electron behavior in quantum materials such as superconductors and topological insulators.[4](https://cos.northeastern.edu/hes-on-a-quest-to-find-the-patterns-that-built-everything-around-us/)
His UT Austin research included a Department of Defense Army Research Office contract (W911NF-12-1-0573), with Fiete as corresponding author, which developed dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) techniques for studying strongly interacting topological phases beyond what density functional theory can treat; the project benchmarked four impurity solvers (NCA, OCA, CT-QMC, and IPT).[5](https://doi.org/10.21236/ada606737) His CV notes an Army Research Office Young Investigator Program award that was superseded by the PECASE.[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/)
## Research and contributions
Fiete's work runs along three connected threads.
**Interaction-driven quantum Hall physics in graphene.** With F. Zhang, J. Jung, Q. Niu, and A.H. MacDonald, he coauthored the 2011 [Physical Review Letters](https://www.edgepedia.org/physical-review-letters) paper on spontaneous quantum Hall states in chirally stacked few-layer graphene.[6](https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=wbqmSGUAAAAJ) The paper showed that few-layer graphene systems with two or more layers can host distinct broken-symmetry states in which charge from different spins and valleys is spontaneously transferred between layers; these states are distinguished by their charge, spin, and valley Hall conductivities, orbital magnetizations, and edge-state properties, with valley Hall states carrying a predicted number of edge channels per spin valley equal to half the layer count, rounded down.[7](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.156801)
**Chiral phonons and phonon magnetism.** [Chiral phonons](https://www.edgepedia.org/chiral-phonons) are lattice vibrations in which atoms move in circular, handed paths, carrying angular momentum and thus coupling to magnetic fields. In a 2022 PRL paper with A. Baydin, F.G.G. Hernandez, M. Rodriguez-Vega, and others, Fiete's group studied the soft transverse optical phonon of PbTe by polarization-dependent terahertz spectroscopy.[6](https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=wbqmSGUAAAAJ) In magnetic fields up to 25 tesla the mode split into two opposite-handed modes showing circular dichroism, Zeeman splitting, and a diamagnetic shift; the team explained this as magnetic field-induced changes in crystal symmetries through the [Lorentz force](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorentz-force) on the lattice ions.[8](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.075901) The 2023 [Science Advances](https://www.edgepedia.org/science-advances) follow-up extended this to Pb₁₋ₓSnₓTe films, a topological crystalline insulator for x > 0.32: films in the topological phase showed phonon magnetic moments about two orders of magnitude larger than trivial samples, and the effective phonon g-factor changed sign across the topological transition.[9](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj4074) A 2025 ACS Nano paper gave a microscopic account of the roughly 2.5 Bohr magneton effective phonon magnetic moments measured in monolayer MoS₂, through coupling between an orbital transition (split conduction bands separated by 4 meV) and a doubly degenerate phonon mode at 33 meV.[10](https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c18906)
**Correlated topological phases.** Earlier theory work predicted new classes of topological quantum spin liquids in pyrochlore oxides via mirror-symmetry-protected topology[11](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.156403); an exotic gapped phase in a quantum spin Hall insulator with semionic braiding statistics and fourfold topological degeneracy[12](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.046401); and topological magnon bands with a temperature-dependent sign change in the magnon Hall response in pyrochlore iridate thin films, plus a predicted time-reversal-breaking d+id superconducting state under doping.[13](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.177201) With R. Lundgren and P. Laurell he also computed the thermoelectric properties of Weyl and Dirac semimetals (PRB 2014).[6](https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=wbqmSGUAAAAJ) A 2021 Nano Letters study with experimental collaborators examined electron-phonon and spin-lattice coupling in few-layer MnBi₂Te₄, finding stronger electron-phonon coupling in thinner flakes and reduced electron-phonon scattering at the onset of magnetic order.[14](https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c01719)
## Key publications
- **Spontaneous quantum Hall states in chirally stacked few-layer graphene systems** (Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 156801, 2011). With F. Zhang, J. Jung, Q. Niu, and A.H. MacDonald. Showed how electron interactions in multilayer graphene generate spontaneous quantum Hall states identifiable by spin-, valley-, and charge-Hall signatures, and edge channels.
- **Topological order and semions in a strongly correlated quantum spin Hall insulator** (Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 046401, 2012). Mean-field prediction of a symmetry-preserving gapped phase with semionic statistics at strong spin-orbit coupling and intermediate Hubbard interaction.
- **Topological crystalline insulators in transition metal oxides** (Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 156403, 2013). With M. Kargarian. Proposed heavy-transition-metal pyrochlore oxides as crystalline topological insulators and predicted topological quantum spin liquids under Hubbard interactions.
- **Topological magnon bands and unconventional superconductivity in pyrochlore iridate thin films** (Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 177201, 2017). Theory of [111]-grown iridate films with nonzero-Chern magnon bands and d+id superconductivity upon doping.
- **Magnetic control of soft chiral phonons in PbTe** (Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 075901, 2022). [Terahertz spectroscopy](https://www.edgepedia.org/terahertz-spectroscopy) demonstrating Zeeman splitting of a chiral phonon under fields up to 25 T. About 37 citations per iCite.[8](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.075901)
- **Observation of interplay between phonon chirality and electronic band topology** (Science Advances, 2023). Showed phonon magnetic moments enhanced two orders of magnitude in the topological phase of Pb₁₋ₓSnₓTe, with opposite g-factor sign across the transition.
- **Origin of large effective phonon magnetic moments in monolayer MoS₂** (ACS Nano, 2025). Orbital-phonon coupling model reproducing moments of about 2.5 μB.
## By the numbers
Citation records for Fiete differ by source and date. His CV, written during his UT Austin years, reports over 70 refereed publications, an h-index above 20, and more than 85 invited talks.[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) The later ARO contract report lists him with an h-index of 48 and 6,944 citations; the sources do not reconcile this difference.[5](https://doi.org/10.21236/ada606737)
The chiral phonon work produced some of the field's notable measured quantities: magnetic fields up to 25 T splitting a phonon mode into two circularly polarized components in PbTe,[8](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.075901) phonon magnetic moments enhanced by two orders of magnitude in the topological phase of Pb₁₋ₓSnₓTe,[9](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj4074) and effective moments of about 2.5 μB in monolayer MoS₂.[10](https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c18906)
## Honours and recognition
Fiete's awards include the NSF CAREER Award, the DARPA Young Faculty Award, a DARPA Director's Fellowship, the PECASE, a Simons Fellowship in Theoretical Physics, and a Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; he is an elected Fellow and an Outstanding Referee of the [American Physical Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-physical-society), and a Kavli Frontiers Fellow of the US National Academy of Sciences.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804) • [2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) His CV records receiving personal congratulations from President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony for the PECASE.[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) He called the PECASE the most prestigious award given by the government for young researchers.[15](https://thedailytexan.com/2016/02/23/two-ut-professors-awarded-highest-government-honor-for-scientists-and-engineers/)
A Daily Texan article says he "was awarded the PECASE in 2010."[15](https://thedailytexan.com/2016/02/23/two-ut-professors-awarded-highest-government-honor-for-scientists-and-engineers/)
## Mentorship, teaching and service
His CV records supervision of five students and two postdocs, service on PhD committees of more than ten students, and creation of a PhD course, "Topological Order and Correlated Electrons in Low Dimensional Systems."[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/) He has served as a grant reviewer for the NSF, US-Israel BNSF, DOE, and DOD, and as a journal reviewer for [Science](https://www.edgepedia.org/science-journal), Nature Materials, Nature Physics, and Physical Review Letters.[2](https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/)
## References
1. Gregory Fiete (0000-0001-9477-0804), ORCID. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0804
2. Gregory A. Fiete CV, University of Texas at Austin. https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/download/3432258/
3. Gregory Fiete, NSF MRSEC, UT Austin. https://mrsec.utexas.edu/profiles/gregory-fiete
4. "He's on a Quest to Find the Patterns That Built 'Everything Around Us'," Northeastern University College of Science. https://cos.northeastern.edu/hes-on-a-quest-to-find-the-patterns-that-built-everything-around-us/
5. Contract W911NF-12-1-0573, Army Research Office report. https://doi.org/10.21236/ada606737
6. Gregory A. Fiete, Google Scholar profile. https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=wbqmSGUAAAAJ
7. Zhang, Jung, Fiete, Niu, MacDonald, "Spontaneous quantum Hall states in chirally stacked few-layer graphene systems," Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 156801 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.156801
8. Baydin, Hernandez, Rodriguez-Vega, et al., "Magnetic Control of Soft Chiral Phonons in PbTe," Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 075901 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.075901
9. "Observation of interplay between phonon chirality and electronic band topology," Science Advances (2023). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj4074
10. "Origin of Large Effective Phonon Magnetic Moments in Monolayer MoS₂," ACS Nano (2025). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c18906
11. Kargarian and Fiete, "Topological crystalline insulators in transition metal oxides," Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 156403 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.156403
12. "Topological order and semions in a strongly correlated quantum spin Hall insulator," Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 046401 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.046401
13. "Topological Magnon Bands and Unconventional Superconductivity in Pyrochlore Iridate Thin Films," Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 177201 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.177201
14. "Electron-Phonon and Spin-Lattice Coupling in Atomically Thin Layers of MnBi₂Te₄," Nano Letters (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c01719
15. "Two UT professors awarded highest government honor for scientists and engineers," The Daily Texan (2016). https://thedailytexan.com/2016/02/23/two-ut-professors-awarded-highest-government-honor-for-scientists-and-engineers/
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Physical world and mathematics › Physical and mathematical scientists › Physicists and astronomers › Researchers in condensed matter physics and quantum materials › Topological materials and topological phases*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license