Professor of Physics
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Vanderbilt University
E-mail address: norman.tolk@vanderbilt.edu
Office Phone: (615)322-2786
Fax: (615)-343-1708
Research group: http://cmass.physics.vanderbilt.edu/website
BIOGRAPHY:
Norman
Tolk was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He
earned his AB degree in physics from Harvard College in Cambridge
Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. degree in atomic physics from Columbia University in
New York City. Following a postdoc at
Columbia, he joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in New Jersey where he carried
out experimental research on surface and interface physics using directed-energy
photon and particle beams.
In 1984, he move to Vanderbilt University as a full Professor of Physics in
the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
He also became an Adjunct Professor of Physics at Fisk University. Early in his carreer at Vanderbilt, he headed
the highly multidisciplinary group representing medicine, engineering biology
and physics that wrote the successful proposal to fabricate a Free-Electron
Laser (FEL) at Vanderbilt, following which he became acting director of the
newly formed FEL center. This initiative
resulted in the construction of a new building on the Vanderbilt campus solely
dedicated to FEL research. In 1987 Dr. Tolk received
the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award which provided the
opportunity to perform research at the Free University in Berlin which happened
to coincide with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Professor
Tolk recently served as Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate and on an annual basis
conducts performances of Handel's Messiah which is a community event involving
many Vanderbilt and community musicians.
Dr.
Tolk is a Fellow of The American Physical Society, holds 8 patents, and is the
author or co-author of 3 edited books and more than 270 papers. His research
involves non-linear laser-surface and laser-interface interactions, ultra-fast vibrational and electronic vibrational processes at surfaces and interfaces, spin dynamics, desorption induced by electronic
and vibrational processes, and atomic collision physics.
CURRICULUM VITAE:
DEGREES AWARDED:
FIELDS OF INTEREST:
CURRENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES:
CURRENT APPOINTMENTS:
PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS:
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
PROFESSIONAL HONORS:
CURRENT RESEARCH ASSOCIATES & STUDENTS:
SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
1.
" Reconfiguration and dissociation of
bonded hydrogen in silicon by energetic ions" S.
V. S. Nageswara Rao,, S. K. Dixit, G. Luepke, N. H. Tolk, and L.
C. Feldman. Phys. Rev. B 83 045204, January
2011
2.
"Polarization-dependent temporal behaviour of second
harmonic generation in Si/SiO2 systems," H.
Park, J. Qi, Y. Xu, G. Lupke, and N. Tolk, J.
Opt. 13 (2011) 055202, February 2011
3.
"Multiphoton
absorption in germanium using pulsed infrared free-electron laser radiation,"
D. Seo, J. M. Gregory, L. C. Feldman, N. H. Tolk, and P. I. Cohen, Phys. Rev.
B, vol. 83, p. 195203, May 2011.
4.
"Mechanical and electronic properties of
ferromagnetic Ga1−xMnxAs using ultrafast coherent
acoustic phonons" J. Qi, J. A. Yan, H. Park, Y. Xu,
A. Steigerwald, S. N. Gilbert, X. Liu, J. K. Furdyna, S. T. Pantelides, and N.
Tolk. Phys. Rev. B 81 (11) 115208, February 2010
5.
"Giant Enhancement of Hydrogen Transport in Rutile
TiO2 at Low Temperatures," E. J. Spahr, L. Wen, M. Stavola, L. A. Boatner, L.
C. Feldman, N. H. Tolk, and G. Lupke, Phys. Rev. Lett., 104, No. 20, Art. No. 205901, May 2010
6.
"Boron induced charge traps near the interface
of Si/SiO2 probed by second harmonic generation," H. Park, J.
Qi, Y. Xu, K. Varga, S. M. Weiss, B. R. Rogers, G. Lupke, and N. Tolk, Physica
Status Solidi. B, Basic research [0370-1972] vol.247 iss.8 pg.1997 -2001,
August, 2010
7.
"Ultrafast carrier and phonon dynamics in Bi2Se3 crystals,"
J. Qi, X. Chen, W. Yu, P. Cadden-Zimansky, D. Smirnov, N. Tolk, I. Miotkowski,
H. Cao, Y. P. Chen, Y. Wu, S. Qiao, and Z. Jiang, Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, Art. No. 182102, November, 2010
8.
"Photon energy threshold for filling boron
induced charge traps in SiO2 near the Si/SiO2 interface using second harmonic
generation," H. Park, Y. Xu, K. Varga, J. Qi, L. Feldman, G. Lupke, and N.
Tolk, Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, Issue
20, Art. No. 202105, November, 2010
9.
"Enhanced Photocurrent Production by Photosystem I Multilayer
Assemblies," P. N. Ciesielski, C. J. Faulkner, M. T. Irwin, J. M. Gregory, N. H.
Tolk, D. E. Cliffel, and G. K. Jennings, Advanced Functional Materials, Volume: 20, Issue: 23,
Pages: 4048-4054, December, 2010
10. "Ultrafast
Laser-Induced Coherent Spin Dynamics In Ferromagnetic GaMnAs/GaAs Structure," J. Qi, Y. Xu, A. Steigerwald, , X. Liu, J. K. Furdyna, and I. E. Perakis, N.
Tolk. Phys. Rev. B 79 (4),
Jan 2009.
11. "Proton Tunneling: A Decay Channel of the O-H
Stretch Mode in KTaO3 ," D. J. Spahr, L. Wen, M. Stavola, L. A.
Boatner, L. C. Feldman, N. H. Tolk, and G. Lupke, Phys. Rev. Lett., 102, No. 7, Art. No. 075506, Feb 2009
12. "Semiconductor
Point Defect Concentration Profiles Measured Using Coherent Acoustic Phonon
Waves," A. Steigerwald, Y. Xu, J. Qi, , J. Gregory, X. Liu, J. K. Furdyna, K. Varga,
A. B. Hmelo, G. Lupke, L. C. Feldman and N. Tolk, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, Issue 11, Art. No. 111910, Mar 16,
2009
13. "Fe/NiO(100)
and Fe/MgO(100) interfaces studied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and non-linear
Kerr effect," S. Colonna, A. Cricenti, P. Luches, S. Valeri, F. Boscherini, J.
Qi, Y. Xu, and N. Tolk, Suface, Superlattices and Microstructures, 46, Pages, 107-113, Jul-Aug 2009
14. "Characterization
of boron charge traps at the interface of Si/SiO2 using second harmonic
generation" H. Park, J. Qi, Y. Xu, K. Varga, S. M. Weiss, B. R. Rogers, G.
Lupke, and N. Tolk, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, Issue 6, Art. No. 062102, Aug 10,
2009
PATENTS: