Professor
B.A. (Carleton College, 1992)
Ph.D. (University of Texas at Austin, 1998)
Postdoctoral Research Associate (University of Texas at Austin, 1999-2001)
Kambhampati has been awarded the John Polanyi Award by the Chemical Institute of Canada (2022) and the Lady Davis Fellowship at Hebrew University (2020). In 2023 he was elected to the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.
Awards and Recognitions:
- International Advisory Board, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2023)
- John Polanyi Award, Chemical Institute of Canada (2022)
- Lady Davis Fellowship as Visiting Professor at Hebrew University (2020)
- Wares Research Prize, McGill University (2019)
- Fessenden Prize in Science Innovation, McGill University (2012)
- Fessenden Professorship, McGill University (2012)
Contact Information
Office: Otto Maass 423
Phone: (514)398-7228
Email: Pat.Kambhampati [at] McGill.CA
Lab: Otto Maass 25
Lab Phone: (514)398-3455
Web Page: Kambhampati Group Website
Research Themes
- Materials Chemistry
- Nanoscience
- Basic Energy Science
- Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy
- Semiconductor Quantum Dots
- Semiconductor perovskites
Research Description
Quantum materials are revolutionizing the future of technology, offering entirely new paradigms for quantum devices that exploit collective, coherent, and strongly correlated behaviors. These materials—engineered at the nanoscale—host exotic phenomena ranging from superradiance and superabsorption to polaronic transport and quantum confinement, laying the foundation for next-generation applications in quantum communication, sensing, and energy storage. Among the most versatile and tunable quantum materials are semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), which confine charge carriers in all three spatial dimensions, creating discrete, atom-like energy levels with tailor-made optical and electronic properties.
Our scientific program has spanned the entire landscape of quantum dots—from conventional CdSe quantum dots to the more recently discovered perovskite quantum dots (PQDs). Perovskite QDs represent a new frontier in quantum materials due to their defect tolerance, long carrier diffusion lengths, and dynamic lattice interactions. These systems offer a unique interplay between soft ionic lattices and strong quantum confinement, making them ideal platforms for observing emergent light–matter phenomena such as superfluorescence, cooperative absorption, and coherent excitonic dynamics. 
At the heart of our research is a decades-long leadership in ultrafast laser spectroscopy—where we have pioneered the development and application of state-of-the-art techniques to probe these fleeting quantum effects in real time. Our journey began with femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, allowing us to track carrier relaxation and exciton dynamics on ultrafast timescales. We then advanced to time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, providing crucial insights into recombination and relaxation kinetics and quantum spatial coherence. Today, we are at the cutting edge with coherent multidimensional spectroscopy (CMDS). the optical analog of 2D-NMR, a technique that captures the full quantum mechanical correlations between states, unveiling many-body interactions, coherence lifetimes, and emergent behaviors previously hidden in ensemble averages. Through this progression, our lab continues to push the frontier of fundamental science, transforming how quantum materials are understood, controlled, and ultimately engineered into tomorrow’s quantum technologies.
Currently Teaching