Lester Hedges

EFRC Postdoctoral Fellow
Theory of Nanostructured Materials Facility,
Molecular Foundry

(510) 495-2377
(lo + my surname)@lbl.gov
echo lo`echo mjiljx@qgq.l | tr "f-za-e" "a-ef-z"`ov

Brief vita

• Jan 2010 - Present: Postdoc, LBNL.
• Jan 2008 - Dec 2009: Postdoc, UC Berkeley.
• Sep 2004 - 2007: PhD, University of Nottingham.
• 2000 - 04: MSci, University of Nottingham.

I am currently a member of the Foundry's soft matter group working under the supervision of Steve Whitelam.

Research interests

As part of the Center for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2 I am currently studying a simple statistical mechanical model that mimics some of the key features of carbonate crystallization. These features include nucleation via amorphous intermediates and the emergence of competing ordered phases. The model is being used to investigate nucleation in bulk solution and under confinement, attempting to extend classical nucleation theory to address the important case of nucleation via metastable intermediates.

Journal publications

14. Self-assembly at a nonequilibrium critical point,
    S. Whitelam, L.O. Hedges, and J.D. Schmit,
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 155504 (2014).


13. Microscopic evidence for liquid-liquid separation in supersaturated CaCO₃ solutions,
    A.F. Wallace, L.O. Hedges, A.J. Fernandez-Martinez, P. Raiteri, S. Whitelam,
    G.A. Waychunas, J.D Gale, J.F. Banfield, and J.J DeYoreo,
    Science 341, 885 (2013).


12. Selective nucleation in porous media,
    L.O. Hedges and S. Whitelam,
    Soft Matter 9, 9763 (2013).


11. Uncovering the intrinsic size dependence of hydriding
    phase transformations in nanocrystals,
    R. Bardhan, L.O. Hedges, C.L. Pint, A. Javey, S. Whitelam, and J.J Urban,
    Nature Materials 12, 905 (2013).


10. Self-assembly of multicomponent structures in and out of equilibrium,
    S. Whitelam, R. Schulman, L.O. Hedges,
    Phs. Rev. Lett. 109, 265506 (2012).


9. Patterning a surface so as to speed nucleation from solution,
   L.O. Hedges and S. Whitelam,
   Soft Matter 8, 8624 (2012).


8. Preparation and relaxation of very stable glassy states of a simulated liquid,
   R.L. Jack, L.O. Hedges, J.P. Garrahan and D. Chandler,
   Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 275702 (2011).


7. Excitations are localized and relaxation is hierarchical in glass-forming liquids,
   A.S. Keys, L.O. Hedges, J.P. Garrahan, S.C. Glotzer and D. Chandler,
   Phys. Rev. X. 1, 021013 (2011).


6. Limit of validity of Ostwald's rule of stages in a statistical mechanical model of crystallization,
   L.O. Hedges and S. Whitelam,
   J. Chem. Phys. 135, 164902 (2011).
   


5. Dynamic order-disorder in atomistic models of structural glass formers,
   L.O. Hedges, R.L. Jack, J.P. Garrahan and D. Chandler,
   Science 323 1309 (2009).


4. Dynamic facilitation explains democratic particle motion of metabasin transitions,
   L.O. Hedges and J.P. Garrahan,
   J. Phys. A 41, 3244006 (2008).


3. De-coupling of exchange and persistence times in atomistic models of glass formers,
   L.O. Hedges, L. Maibaum, D. Chandler and J.P. Garrahan,
   J. Chem. Phys. 127, 211101 (2007).


2. Dynamic propensity in a kinetically constrained lattice gas,
   L.O. Hedges and J.P. Garrahan,
   J. Phys.: Condens. Matter. 19, 205124 (2007).


1. Fast simulation of facilitated spin models,
   D.J. Ashton, L.O. Hedges and J.P. Garrahan,
   J. Stat. Mech. P12010 (2005).

Featured press

• Nucleation from solution (perspective),
  A.S. Myerson and B.L. Trout.
  Science 341, 855 (2013).


• Computer simulations indicate calcium carbonate has a dense liquid phase,
  Berkeley Lab News Center (2013).


• Size matters as nanocrystals go through phases,
  Berkeley Lab News Center (2013).


• The Nature of Glass Remains Anything but Clear,
  New York Times (2008).

You can find more details on my publications at my Google Scholar profile.
Preprints can be found on the arXiv.

Code

A collection of code can be found at my GitHub page. Tutorials and extra info can be found at my my personal website here.

Collaborators past and present

• Previously, I was a postdoc in the Chandler Group at the University of California, Berkeley.
• My postgraduate research was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Juan Garrahan at the University of Nottingham.
• Dr Douglas Ashton is another former member of Juan Garrahan's group and is now a postdoc at the university of Bath.
• Dr Rob Jack is a former member of the Chandler Group now working at the university of Bath.
• Aaron Keys is a postdoc in the Chandler group and a former member of the Glotzer Group at the University of Michigan.