UC Berkeley associate professor of physics, Mike Zaletel, was elected as a 2025 American Physical Society Fellow for "pioneering contributions to the understanding of topological aspects of condensed matter, including those arising in moiré materials, and to computational methods for correlated systems."
Zaletel's research focuses on theoretical condensed matter physics and its intersection with quantum information and computational approaches. He aims to understand the behavior of electrons in 'quantum' materials where entanglement and the strong interactions between electrons conspire to form new phases of matter. In addition to pen-and-paper calculations, he is particularly interested in using ideas from quantum information to help design computational algorithms which can efficiently model these materials. Aside from the fundamental interest of exploring 'emergent' phenomena that can arise from the interplay of quantum mechanics and many particles, he hopes to find new ways to harness these materials for the control and processing of quantum information.
The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in physics through original research and publication, or made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. The APS Fellowship award is a prestigious honor bestowed upon individuals by professional peers - each year, no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership (excluding student members) are elected to the status of Fellow of the American Physical Society. For 2025, APS selected 151 fellows for recognition. Read a full list of APS Fellows here.