Abstract: The puzzle of High-Temperature Superconductors (HTSC) remains unresolved almost 40 years after its discovery in 1986. I will argue that it is because HTSC lies between the standard Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) limit that describes simple metals and the “Real-Space” limit in which electrons are paired in well-defined quasi-molecules that at low temperature condense as a Bose gas. Real-Space Superconducvity was developed as an alternative to BCS in the 1950s, then forgotten, and now is slowly moving back on stage under mounting experimental evidence. In this presentation, I will review the history, current status, and my own contributions to this area. I will also discuss a potential path to room-temperature superconductivity at ambient pressure.

Short-bio: Pavel obtained his PhD in Theoretical Physics from King’s College London in 1997. He was hired to HP Labs in Palo Alto in 1999 to work on a DARPA-sponsored molecular electronics project. In 2002, he moved to Corvallis to join the HP Printing Division, where he currently works as a senior technologist. Over the years, Pavel gave several presentations at OSU Physics Department about his HP-related and HP-unrelated work. In 2012, he served on the external panel evaluating Department’s graduate program. He has been a Courtesy Professor of Physics since 2014. Between 2015 and 2018, he served on the Committee on Careers and Professional Development of the American Physical Society, including 2 years as the Committee Chair. Pavel has diverse research interests ranging from piezo printing to topological defects in liquid crystals.