News

2026

October 15, 2026 · Mapping Ignorance (DIPC)
Computation sorts thousands of 2D crystals for topology and twisting
Two Science studies screened 2D crystals, finding over 4,000 with unusual electronic topology and 1,629 that could host nearly flat bands when twisted.
September 28, 2026 · EHU Campusa Magazine
A 2D atlas of topological materials
EHU and DIPC researchers catalogued nearly 9,000 single-layer materials, finding over 4,000 with nontrivial topology or obstructed atomic limits.
September 24, 2026 · Princeton University (via EurekAlert!)
New catalogs map the quantum possibilities of atomically thin materials
Two companion Science papers catalogue nearly 9,000 two-dimensional materials by topology and identify more than 1,600 candidates for twisted quantum simulators.
May 13, 2026 · Phys.org
Atomic bands in two transition metal dichalcogenides hint at long-theorized quantum state
Teams at Princeton and DIPC and at Columbia reported in Nature Physics signs of obstructed atomic bands in NbSe2 and WSe2, with electrons centred on empty lattice sites.
April 1, 2026 · University of Oxford Department of Physics
Electrons where atoms are not
A Nature Physics study led by Dumitru Călugăru gives direct evidence of an obstructed atomic band in NbSe2, with electrons sitting at empty lattice sites.

July 10, 2025 · DIPC
Breakthrough in quantum matter: twisting layers unlocks new material properties
A Nature paper proposes moiré materials twisted around the M point, predicting very flat bands in SnSe2 and ZrS2 at small twist angles.
July 9, 2025 · Princeton University Department of Physics (via EurekAlert!)
Twist to the M-ax(is): New twist platform opens path to quantum simulation of more exotic states of matter
A Nature study introduces twistable materials based on the M point, whose twisted layers may localize electrons into hexagonal or kagome patterns.

May 10, 2024 · DIPC
New catalog of topological phonons paves the way for new solid-state physics
A Science paper presents a public catalogue of topological phonon bands, finding nontrivial phonon band gaps in about half of the materials studied.

August 16, 2023 · Princeton University (via Phys.org)
Visualizing the microscopic phases of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene
Princeton researchers imaged the insulating phase of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene by STM, with theory co-led by Bernevig and Michael Zaletel.
July 13, 2023 · DIPC
B. Andrei Bernevig receives the 2023 EPS Europhysics Prize
Bernevig received the 2023 EPS Europhysics Prize for work on topological quantum materials, the first such prize for a DIPC researcher.
July 3, 2023 · Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
2023 EPS Europhysics Prize
The EPS Condensed Matter Division awarded its 2023 Europhysics Prize to Claudia Felser and B. Andrei Bernevig for work on topological quantum materials.

November 1, 2022 · Physics World
A periodic table for topological materials
Interview with Maia Vergniory about the Topological Materials Database, which classified tens of thousands of materials by topology.
July 19, 2022 · APS Physics
A Conceptual Cousin for Twisted Bilayer Graphene
Synopsis of a Physical Review Letters paper by Zhi-Da Song and Bernevig describing twisted bilayer graphene with a heavy fermion model.
May 20, 2022 · Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
Everything is Topological
A Science study reports that over half of the known 3D materials in the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database are topological.
March 30, 2022 · Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
When a band falls flat: Searching for flatness in materials
A team led by Bernevig and Nicolas Regnault published in Nature the first catalogue of flat-band materials.

October 29, 2020 · Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
Topology Gets Magnetic: The New Wave Of Topological Magnetic Materials
A Nature study ran the first high-throughput search of magnetic materials, finding 130 of 549 magnetic structures to be topological.
February 13, 2020 · Princeton University (via EurekAlert!)
Fragile topology: Two new studies explain the strange electron flow in future materials
Two Science papers describe a modified bulk-boundary principle for fragile topology, tested at ETH Zurich with a 3D-printed acoustic model.

May 29, 2019 · Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
Claudia Felser and Andrei Bernevig awarded the 2019 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials
The APS presented its 2019 McGroddy Prize for New Materials to Claudia Felser, Andrei Bernevig and Xi Dai for work on topological semimetals and insulators.
February 28, 2019 · Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
Good news for future tech: Exotic "topological" materials are surprisingly common
A Nature paper catalogued about 25,000 inorganic crystals and found that more than a quarter show topological behavior.
February 28, 2019 · Physics World
Ubiquity of topological materials revealed in catalogues containing thousands of substances
Report on catalogues of topological materials, including the analysis of nearly 27,000 materials with topological quantum chemistry.

August 11, 2018 · Scientific American
Thousands of Exotic "Topological" Materials Discovered through Sweeping Search
Nature news article, reproduced by Scientific American, on database searches that found thousands of likely topological materials.
July 19, 2018 · Princeton University (via EurekAlert!)
Princeton-UPenn research team finds physics treasure hidden in a wallpaper pattern
A Science study used wallpaper-group symmetries to identify Sr2Pb3, an insulator with a fourfold Dirac cone surface state.

October 26, 2017 · Freie Universität Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin and Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics nominate scientist for Alexander von Humboldt Professorship
FU Berlin and MPI Halle nominated Bernevig for an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship.
July 19, 2017 · Princeton University (via EurekAlert!)
Researchers find path to discovering new topological materials
The Nature paper on topological quantum chemistry gives a method to identify and predict topological insulators.

November 25, 2015 · Princeton University (via Phys.org)
'Material universe' yields surprising new particle
Research led by Bernevig with ETH Zurich and Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborators predicted the type-II Weyl fermion in tungsten ditelluride.
November 10, 2015 · The Daily Princetonian
Current and former U. professors awarded for work in physics
Bernevig shared the 2016 New Horizons in Physics Prize for his research on topological insulators.
November 8, 2015 · Breakthrough Prize
Breakthrough Prize Awarded $22 Million In Science Prizes
Bernevig, Liang Fu and Xiao-Liang Qi shared a 2016 New Horizons in Physics Prize for using topology to understand new states of matter.

April 28, 2014 · Tel Aviv University
The Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Physics
Bernevig was one of three 2014 Sackler Prize laureates, cited for his theoretical contribution towards a first realization of a two-dimensional topological insulator.