B.A. Chemistry, Wellesley College

Ph.D. Materials Science, University of California Santa Barbara

Postdoctoral Researcher, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Chem 042 (Physical Chemistry I)

Chem 052 (Physical Chemistry II)

The Watkins group studies how electrons behave in solid state quantum materials with applications in emerging technologies like quantum computing. We employ density functional theory (DFT) calculations to answer questions about how the electrons behave collectively to produce phenomena like magnetism, superconductivity, and unconventional or “topological” states. Our research follows two main directions: 

(1) benchmarking computational methods to identify the best strategies for studying these complex materials, and

(2) high-throughput materials screening to understand how chemical composition and structure influence desired properties. 

Through these aims, we establish best computational practices and guide materials discovery. Our research bridges chemistry, physics, and materials science, connecting fundamental questions about the nature of electrons with the frontiers of materials design.

AKW, AK Cheetham, R Seshadri, Metallic oxides and the overlooked role of bandwidth, Chem. Mater. 38 (2026), 1551-1565.

 

AKW, D Johrendt, V Vlcek, SD Wilson, R Seshadri, Fidelity and variability in the interlayer electronic structure of the kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5, Phys. Rev. Mater. 8 (2024), 054204. 

 

JR Chamorro, JL Zuo, EN Bassey, AKW, G Zhu, A Zohar, KE Wyckoff, TL Kinnibrugh, SH Lapidus, S Stemmer, RJ Clément, SD Wilson, R Seshadri, Soft-chemical synthesis, structure evolution, and insulator-to-metal transition in pyrochlore-like λ-RhO2, Chem. Mater. 36 (2024), 1547-1558. 

 

JR Chamorro, AR Jackson, AKW, R Seshadri, SD Wilson, Magnetic order in the Seff = 1/2 triangular-lattice compound NdCd3P3, Phys. Rev. Mater. 7 (2023) 094402. 

 

BR Ortiz, PM Sarte, AH Avidor, AKW, E Kenney, AI Kolesnikov, DM Pajerowski, AA Aczel, KM Taddei, CM Brown, C Wang, MJ Graf, R Seshadri, L Balents, SD Wilson, Quantum disordered ground state in the triangular-lattice magnet NaRuO2, Nat. Phys. 19 (2023), 943-949. 

 

D Werhahn, BR Ortiz, AKW, SD Wilson, R Seshadri, D Johrendt, The kagomé metals RbTi3Bi5 and CsTi3Bi5, Z. Naturforsch. B 77 (2022) 757-764. 

 

S Klemenz, AKW, SML Teicher, A Topp, J Cano, LM Schoop, The role of delocalized chemical bonding in square-net-based topological semimetals, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142 (2020), 6350-6359.