She, Her, Hers

Professor

Physics

Dr. Lang received her B.S. in International Affairs from Georgetown University in 1993. Having rediscovered her love of physics too late to major in it, but early enough to take a few physics classes in college, she did an about face and applied to graduate school in physics. She was accepted to U.C. Berkeley and started there in fall 1994. In her first year in graduate school she attended a colloquium in which she saw a picture of an atom taken by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The awestruck amazement fostered by seeing these pictures launched her into a career of using scanning probe microscopes to study small things. In graduate school she studied high-temperature superconductors with scanning tunneling microscopy, receiving her Ph.D. from Berkeley in 2001. For her postdoc and pre-tenure research at Colorado College she transitioned to using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study thin insulators used in solid state quantum bits.

Recently, Dr. Lang collaborated for a decade with a microbiologist, Phoebe Lostroh, to study the genetic and physical basis of natural transformation in bacteria. Natural transformation is the ability possessed by some bacteria to import foreign DNA across their outer membrane and incorporate it into their own genomes. The work combines both AFM and microbiological techniques. 

From this research project, came a research-based biophysics class.  The class inspired Dr. Lang to write a biophysics textbook, which is her ongoing current project.  Dr. Lang involves undergraduate students in all her research.

When not taking pictures of small things, Dr. Lang chairs the Physics Department and teaches courses across the physics curriculum at Colorado College. She particularly enjoys incorporating active teaching elements into her courses and finding interesting connections between physics and the world around her. Dr. Lang also teaches a course on microbiology and cellular biophysics in collaboration with Dr. Lostroh of the Microbiology Department and a course on physics and the human body in collaboration with Dr. Bull of the Human Biology and Kinesiology Department. Ever further afield, Dr. Lang also teaches Gender and Science, a course that examines questions such as why there are so few women in science and how science defines gender.

Regular Classes

PC 133 - Astronomy
PC 136 - How Things Work
PC 151 - Biophysics: Physics and Living Things
PC 241 - Physics for the Physical Sciences I: Mechanics
PC 242 - Physics for the Physical Sciences II: Electricity & Magnetism
PC 251 - Introductory Modern Physics
PC 341 - Mechanics
PC 349 - Thermal Physics
MB 109 - First Year Experience Microbiology and Cellular Biophysics
FG 216 - Gender & Science

Papers & Publications

*indicates undergraduate student co-author

"Engaging students in research in their first college course: nuts and bolts and outcomes"
C. Phoebe Lostroh, Kristine M. Lang. Submitted.

"Quantitative atomic force microscopy measurements of bacterial morphology"
Caroline Boyd*, Nicholas Lammers*, Kaleb S. Roush*, Sara L. Worsham*, Saúl Maravilla*, Anis Butter‐Miller*, C. Phoebe Lostroh, Kristine M. Lang. ResearchSquare: rs-11353/v1 (January 2020).

"Microscopic Electronic Inhomogeneity in the High‐Tc Superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ"
S. H. Pan, J. P. O'Neal, R. L. Badzey, C. Chamon, H. Ding, J. R. Engelbrecht, Z. Wang, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, A. K. Gupta, K.‐W. Ng, E. W. Hudson, K. M. Lang, J. C. Davis
In Superconductivity Centennial, edited by Rushan Han, Peking University‐World Scientific Advanced Physics Series: Volume 6 (November 2018).

"The role of core and accessory type IV pilus genes in natural transformation and twitching motility in the bacterium Acinetobacter baylyi"
Colleen G. Leong*, Rebecca A. Bloomfield*, Caroline A. Boyd*, Amber J. Dornbusch*, Leah Lieber*, Flora Liu*, Amie Owen*, Erin Slay*, Kristine M. Lang, C. Phoebe Lostroh.
PLOS ONE 12(8): e0182139 (August 2017).

"Succinate, iron chelation, and monovalent cations affect the transformation efficiency of Acinetobacter baylyi strain ATCC33305 during growth in complex media"
Colleen G. Leong*, Caroline M. Boyd*, Kaleb S. Roush*, Ricardo Tenente*, Kristine M. Lang, Phoebe Lostroh.
Canadian Journal of Microbiology 63, 851‐856 (August 2017).

"A. baylyi Long Term Stationary Phase Protein Stip is a Protease Required for Normal Cell Morphology and Resistance to Tellurite"B. Reichert*, A. Dornbusch*, J. Arguello*, S. Stanley, K. Lang, P. Lostroh, M. Daugherty.
Canadian Journal of Microbiology 59, 726‐736 (November 2013).

"Practical Implementation of Dynamic Methods for Measuring Atomic Force Microscope Cantilever Spring Constants"
S.M. Cook*, T.E. Schäffer, K.M. Chynoweth*, M. Wigton*, R.W. Simmonds, K. M. Lang.
Nanotechnology 17, 2135‐2145 (March 2006).

"Josephson Junction Materials Research Using Phase Qubits",
R. W. Simmonds, D. A. Hite, R. McDermott, M. Steffen, K. B. Cooper, K. M. Lang, John M. Martinis, D. P. Pappas.
In Quantum Computation: Solid State Systems, by P. Delsing, C. Granata, Y. Pashkin, B. Ruggiero and P. Silvestrini, Kluwer Academic Plenum Publishers (December 2005).

"Coincidence of Checkerboard Charge Order and Antinodal State Decoherence in Strongly Underdoped Superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
K. McElroy, D.‐H. Lee, J. E. Hoffman, K. M. Lang, J. Lee, E. W. Hudson, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, and J. C. Davis.
Physical Review Letters 94, 197005/1‐4 (May 2005).

"Conducting atomic force microscopy for nanoscale tunnel barrier characterization",
K.M. Lang, D.A. Hite, R.W. Simmonds, R. McDermott, D.P. Pappas, John M. Martinis.
Review of Scientific Instruments 75, 2726‐2731 (August 2004).

"Decoherence in Josephson Phase Qubits from Junction Resonators",
R.W. Simmonds, K.M. Lang, D.A. Hite, S. Nam, D.P. Pappas, and John M. Martinis
Physical Review Letters 93, 077003/1‐4 (August 2004).

"Banishing quasiparticles from Josephson‐junction qubits: why and how to do it",
K.M. Lang, S. Nam, J. Aumentado, C. Urbina, John M. Martinis.
IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity 13, 989‐993 (June 2003).

"Decoherence of a superconducting qubit due to bias noise",
John M. Martinis, S. Nam, J. Aumentado, K.M. Lang, C. Urbina.
Physical Review B 67, 94510/1‐10 (March 1, 2003).

"Incommensurate, dispersive, density of states modulations in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
K. McElroy, J.E. Hoffman, D.H. Lee, K.M. Lang, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Physica C 388-389, 225-226 (May 2003).

"Vortex-induced quasi-particle 'checkerboard[1]' in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
J.E. Hoffman, E.W. Hudson, K.M. Lang, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Physica C 388-389, 703-704 (May 2003).

"STM study of novel resonances in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
E.W. Hudson, V. Madhavan, K. McElroy, J.E. Hoffman, K.M. Lang, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Physica B 329-333, 1365-1366 (May 2003).

"Women in Physics in the United States,"
Megan Urry, Sheila Tobias, Kim Budil, Howard Georgi, Kristine Lang, Dongqi Li, Laurie McNeil, Peter Saeta, Jennifer Sokoloski, Sharon Stephenson, Aparna Venkatesan, and Yevgeniya Zastavker.
AIP Conference Proceedings 628, 237 (August 20, 2002).

"Imaging Quasiparticle Interference in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
J.E. Hoffman, K. McElroy, D.‐H. Lee, K.M. Lang, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Science 297, 1148‐1151 (August 16, 2002).

"Nanoscale one‐dimensional scattering resonances in the CuO chains of YBa2Cu3O6+x",
D.J. Derro, E.W. Hudson, K.M. Lang, S.H. Pan, J.C. Davis, J.T. Markert, A.L. de Lozanne.
Physical Review Letters 88, 097002/1‐4 (March 2002).

"Imaging the granular structure of high Tc superconductivity in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
K.M. Lang, V. Madhavan, J.E. Hoffman, E.W. Hudson, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Nature 415, 412‐416 (January 24, 2002).

"A four unit cell periodic pattern of quasiparticle states surrounding vortex cores in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
J.E. Hoffman, E.W. Hudson, K.M. Lang, V. Madhavan, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Science 295, 466‐469 (January 18, 2002).

"Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy Study of Inhomogeneity, Granularity, and Segregation in the Electronic Structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
Kristine Michelle Lang.
Ph.D. Thesis, U.C. Berkeley, (Fall 2001).

"Microscopic electronic inhomogeneity in the high‐Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x",
S.H. Pan, J.P. O'Neal, R.L. Badzey, C. Chamon, H. Ding, J.R. Engelbrecht, Z. Wang, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, A.K. Gupta, K.‐W. Ng, E.W. Hudson, K.M. Lang, J.C. Davis.
Nature 413, 282‐285 (September 20, 2001).

"Interplay of magnetism and high‐Tc superconductivity at individual Ni impurity atoms in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
E.W. Hudson, K.M. Lang, V. Madhavan, S.H. Pan, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Nature 411, 920‐924 (June 21, 2001).

"A Detailed Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study of the CuO chains in YBa2Cu3O7-x",
D.J. Derro, E.W. Hudson, K.M. Lang, S.H. Pan, J.C. Davis, K. Mochizuki, J.T. Markert, and A.L. de Lozanne.
Physica C 341-348, 425-428 (November 2000).

"Imaging the Effects of Individual Zinc Impurity Atoms on Superconductivity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
S.H. Pan, E.W. Hudson, K.M. Lang, H. Eisaki, S. Uchida, J.C. Davis.
Nature 403, 746‐750 (February 17, 2000).

"STM of quasiparticle scattering resonances in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ",
E.W. Hudson, S.H. Pan, K.M. Lang, A.K. Gupta, K.-W. Ng, J.C. Davis.
Physica B 284-288, 969-970 (February 2000).

"Search for Superconductivity in Lithium",
K.M. Lang, Ari Mizel, J. Mortara, E. Hudson, J. Hone, Marvin L. Cohen, A. Zettl, J.C.
Low Temperature Physics 114, 445-454 (March 1999)

News Features

 Colorado College Students Break Sound Barrier - with a ping-pong ball  (The Gazette, 2/14/2024)

Summer Session: A Sandbox For Course Development (Colorado College, 9/18/19)

SCoRe! Students Contribute, Collaborate in Summer Research Program (Colorado College 8/3/16)

Hands-On Research (Colorado College Bulletin, 4/14)

Unraveling Competence (Colorado College Bulletin, 4/14)

Colorado College Professors Score $500k Grants to Study Soil Bacteria (The Gazette, 3/16/14)

NSF Awards $507,653 Grant For Student Research (Colorado College, 2/19/14)

Scientific Collaboration Yields Positive Results for Students and Faculty (Colorado College Bulletin, 4/11)

CC Is First Small College to Receive Big-Time Microscope (Colorado College Bulletin, Spring 2008)

Teaching Moments: Freezing Kids with Liquid Nitrogen? (Steve Spangler Science, 3/8/19)

Professor's Persistence Pays Off in Microscope (The Gazette, 2/24/08)

Science professors think teaching device can help (The Gazette, 12/27/05)

SWPS Provides Mentoring and Support for Women in Physics at Berkeley (The Gazette, Spring 1999)