Contact Information

External Website-Corcovilos

Biography

Dr. Corcovilos joined the Physics Department in the School of Science and Engineering in 2013 and is currently an Associate Professor.  His primary focus is on undergraduate education, where he teaches a variety of introductory and advanced courses. He is also actively involved in undergraduate research, having mentored over twenty-five research students including several from underrepresented groups.  His research involves applications of optics to measurement problems in a variety of fields such as quantum computing, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, acoustics, and environmental science.  He has active cross-disciplinary collaborations with faculty throughout Duquesne, the country, and internationally.

Dr. Corcovilos has also been a Faculty Senate assembly member since 2016 and is the current Vice President of Faculty Senate, serving in that role since 2022.

Education

  • PhD Physics, California Institute of Technology
  • BS College Scholars, U. Tennessee - Knoxville

Research Interests & Areas of Expertise

Dr. Corcovilos's field of expertise lies in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science. He demonstrates a keen interest in exploring the structure-property relationships crucial for the rational construction of new magnetic materials. Employing laser pulses and particle beams, he synthesizes amorphous and nanocrystalline magnetic materials with meticulously controlled properties. His arsenal of investigation techniques includes Mӧssbauer spectroscopy, magnetic measurements, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and thermal analysis. These methodologies are showcased in his latest book, "Recent Applications of the Mӧssbauer Effect," published by Dorrance Publishing Company in 2020.

Thanks to funding from prestigious sources such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Petroleum Research Fund, and Research Corporation, Dr. Corcovilos has successfully mentored over 35 students and three postdoctoral researchers.

Dr. Corcovilos's interests include:

  • Experimental Atomic
  • Molecular
  • Optical Physics

School

About Dr. Corcovilos

Please find a compilation of Dr. Corcovilos's selected publications, course offerings and professional memberships.

  1. Sorescu, Monica, Theodore A. Corcovilos, Douglas Higinbotham, and Marcy Stutzman. 2023. “Stimulating the Amorphous Structure of Fe56Co24Nb4B13Si2Cu1 Ferromagnetic Alloy by Thermal Annealing, Laser and Electron Beam Irradiation: A Mӧssbauer Spectroscopy Investigation.” Journal of Alloys and Metallurgical Systems 4 (December): 100045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalmes.2023.100045.
  2. Terhorst, Justin G., Theodore A. Corcovilos, and Michael J. van Stipdonk. 2023. “Conversion of a UO22+ Precursor to UH+ and U+ Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry to Remove Both ‘Yl’ Oxo Ligands.” Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 34 (11): 2439–42. https://doi.org/10.1021/jasms.3c00260.
  3. Corcovilos, Theodore A.. 2023. “Beyond the ABCDs: A Better Matrix Method for Geometric Optics by Using Homogeneous Coordinates.” American Journal of Physics. 2205.09746. https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0083069.
  4. Van Stipdonk, Michael J., Evan H. Perez, Luke J. Metzler, Amanda R. Bubas, Theodore Corcovilos, and Arpad Somogyi. 2021. “Destruction and Reconstruction of UO₂²⁺ Using Gas-Phase Reactions.” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 23 (20): 11844–51. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CP01520F.
  5. Corcovilos, Theodore A., and Jahnavee Mittal. 2019. “Two-Dimensional Optical Quasicrystal Potentials for Ultracold Atom Experiments.” Applied Optics 58 (9): 2256–63. https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.58.002256.
  6. Corcovilos, Theodore A. 2018. “A Simple Game Simulating Quantum Measurements of Qubits.” American Journal of Physics 86 (7): 510–17. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5036620.
  7. Jong, Wibe A. de, Phuong D. Dau, Richard E. Wilson, Joaquim Marçalo, Michael J. Van Stipdonk, Theodore A. Corcovilos, Giel Berden, Jonathan Martens, Jos Oomens, and John K. Gibson. 2017. “Revealing Disparate Chemistries of Protactinium and Uranium. Synthesis of the Molecular Uranium Tetroxide Anion, UO4-.” Inorganic Chemistry 56 (6): 3686–94. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b00144.
  8. Dau, Phuong D., Daniel Rios, Yu Gong, Maria C. Michelini, Joaquim Marçalo, David K. Shuh, Mejdi Mogamman, et al. 2016. “Synthesis and Hydrolysis of Uranyl, Neptyl and Plutonyl Gas-Phase Complexes Exhibiting Discrete Actinide-Carbon Bonds.” Organometallics 35 (9): 1228–40. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.organomet.6b00079.
  9. Van Stipdonk, Michael J., Catherine O’Malley, Alexandra Plaviak, Dean Martin, Jordan Pestok, Patricia A. Mihm, Cassandra G. Hanley, Theodore A. Corcovilos, John K. Gibson, and Benjamin J. Bythell. 2016. “Dissociation of Gas-Phase, Doubly-Charged Uranyl-Acetone Complexes by Collisional Activation and Infrared Photodissociation.” International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 396 (February): 22–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2015.12.005.
  • American Physical Society, member (1997-present).
  • Optical Society of America, member (2012-present).
  • American Association of Physics Teachers, member (2013-present).
  • Society of Physics Students, faculty member (1996-present).
  • Pittsburgh Quantum Institute, member (2013-present), executive board member (2014-present), program committee (2014-present).
  • Society for Applied Spectroscopy, member (2016-present)
  • PHYS 302 (Optics)
  • PHYS 473 (Electrodynamics)
  • PHYS 474 (Quantum Mechanics)
  • PHYS 475 (Advanced Quantum Mechanics)
  • PHYS 312 Development of equipment for (Optics Lab)
  • PHYS 364 (Modern Physics Lab)