Associate Professor of Physics
On Faculty since 2003
Office: Science Center 364
Phone: (630)752-5896
Email: Stewart.DeSoto@wheaton.edu
Education
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Ph. D., Physics, 1995
Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL B. S., Physics, Mathematics, 1988
About Stewart DeSoto
As a graduate student in Professor Charles P. Slichter's research group at the University of Illinois, Dr. DeSoto published the results of his Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments conducted in a novel class of organic superconductors with a quasi two-dimensional crystal structure in the Physical Review Letters. His research proved that the spin-lattice relaxation mechanism for these superconductors was dominated by motion of the fluxoids, or little lines of magnetic field, poking through the material. Dr. DeSoto met his wife, Laura, when both were students at Wheaton. They married in 1993 and now have two children, Gabriella and Zachary. They both love to explore the outdoors- rock climbing, backpacking and mountain climbing are among their favorite recreational pursuits.
Courses Taught
- Introductory Physics I
- Introductory Physics II
- Modern Physics
- Analytical Mechanics
- Quantum Mechanics
- Experimental Physics
- Solid State Physics and Nanotechnology
- Math Physics
- Analog Electronics
- Computer Data Acquisition
Membership in Professional Societies
- American Physcial Society
- Ameircan Assoication of Physics Teachers
- American Scientific Affiliation
Research
Dr. DeSoto's current research interest is in the area of using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to probe the physics and dynamics of hydrogen storage in a new class of materials called Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) which show promise as safe and economical method of transporting hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells in hydrogen-powered automobiles.
Publications
J. A. Martindale, S. E. Barrett, C. A. Klug, K. E. E. O'Hara, S. M. DeSoto, C. P. Slichter, T. A. Friedmann and D. M. Ginsburg, "NMR in the superconducting state of YBa2Cu3O7", Physica C 185-189 93-97 (1991).
J. A. Martindale, S. E. Barrett, C. A. Klug, K. E. O'Hara, S. M. DeSoto, C. P. Slichter, T. A. Friedmann and D. M. Ginsburg, "Anisotropy and magnetic field dependence of the planar copper NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate in the superconducting state of YBa2Cu3O7" Physical Review Letters 68 702-705 (1992).
C. P. Slichter, S. E. Barrett, J. A. Martindale, D. J. Durand, C. H. Pennington, C. A. Klug, K. E. O'Hara, S. M. DeSoto, T. Imai, J. P. Rice, T. A. Friedmann, D. M. Ginsberg, "NMR Studies of the Superconducting State of Copper Oxide Superconductors", Applied Magnetic Resonance 3 423-448 (1992).
S. M. DeSoto, C. P. Slichter, H. H. Wang, U. Geiser, J. M. Williams, "Evidence for the Role of Fluxoids in Enhancing NMR Spin-Lattice Relaxation and Implications for Intrinsic Pinning of the Flux-Lattice in Organic Superconductors", Physical Review Letters 70 2956-2959 (1993).
C. P. Slichter, J. A. Martindale, S. E. Barrett, K. E. O'Hara, S. M. DeSoto, T. Imai, D. J. Durand, C. H. Pennington, T. A. Friedmann, W. C. Lee, D. M. Ginsberg, "NMR Studies of the Superconducting Pairing State of YBa2Cu3O7", J. Physics Chemistry Solids 54 1439-1445 (1993).
S. M. DeSoto, C. P. Slichter, H. H. Wang, U. Geiser, J. M. Williams, "13C NMR Studies of the Normal and Superconducting States of k-(ET)2Cu N(CN)2]Br", Physical Review B 52 10,364 - 10,368 (1996).
C. P. Slichter, R. L. Corey, N. J. Curro, S. M. DeSoto, K. E. O'Hara, T. Imai, A. M. Kini, H. H. Wang, U. Geiser, J. M. Williams, K. Yoshimura, M. Katoh, K. Kosuge, "Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Electron Spins: Some History, Ancient, and in the Making", Phil. Mag. B 74 545-561 (1996).
S. M. DeSoto, C. P. Slichter, A. M. Kini, H. H. Wang, U. Geiser, J. M. Williams, "13C NMR Lineshape Studies of the Organic Superconductor k-(ET)2Cu N(CN)2]Br", Physical Review B 52 16,101-16,107 (1996)
P. Siniscalchi, J. Pitz, R. Hester, S. DeSoto, M. Wang, S. Sridharan, R. Halbach, D. Richardson, W. Bright, M. Sarraj, J. Hellums, C. Betty and G. Westphal, "A CMOS ADSL Codec for Central Office Applications", Proceedings CICC Conference (2000).
P. Siniscalchi, J. Pitz, R. Hester, S. DeSoto, M. Wang, S. Sridharan, R. Halbach, D. Richardson, W. Bright, M. Sarraj, J. Hellums, C. Betty and G. Westphal, "A CMOS ADSL Codec for Central Office Applications", IEEE J. Solid State Circuits 36 356-365 (2001).
Dylan F. Smith, Stewart M. De Soto, Charles P. Slichter, John A. Schlueter, Aravinda M. Kini, and Roxanne G. Daugherty, "Dzialoshinskii-Moriya interaction in the organic superconductor k-(ET)2Cu N(CN)2]Cl", Physical Review B 68 (2003)
Patents "Row Decoder With Switched Power Supply", U.S. Patent #6,278,297, August 21, 2001
S. M. DeSoto, G. E. Ermer “Does Engineering Contribute to a Better Future?”, Not Just Science: Questions Where Christian Faith and Natural Science Intersect. Ed. D. F. Chappell, E. D. Cook. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. (2005)
S. M. DeSoto, and D. Dreyer, “Hydrogen Storage in Metal Organic Frameworks.” In Nanomaterials for Energy Storage Applications, edited by Hari Singh Nalwa. Chicago: American Scientific Publishers. (2008)