Hanu Arava

Dr. Hanu Arava is a Staff Scientist in the Materials Science Division. He received his PhD in Materials from ETH Zürich, Switzerland. His current research is at the intersection of topology, geometry, and energetics in nanomagnetic thin films and heterostructures for eventual use in applications such as unconventional computing. He uses a combination of real space imaging of spin textures, transport, external stimuli driven (field, thermal,voltage, etc.), and numerical simulations to understand magnetism at nano- and mesoscales.

If you are an undergraduate or a recent graduate, you may consider the following Department of Energy opportunities to work with us at Argonne National Laboratory:

• Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI): https://​sci​ence​.osti​.gov/​w​d​t​s​/suli
• Community College Internships (CCI): https://​sci​ence​.osti​.gov/​w​d​t​s/cci

If you are a postdoc or a recent PhD, you may consider the following Argonne National Laboratory opportunities:

• Walter Massey Fellowship: https://​www​.anl​.gov/​h​r​/​w​a​l​t​e​r​-​m​a​s​s​e​y​-​f​e​l​l​o​wship
• Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellowship: https://​www​.anl​.gov/​h​r​/​m​a​r​i​a​-​g​o​e​p​p​e​r​t​-​m​a​y​e​r​-​f​e​l​l​o​wship

Awards

• Argonne Impact Award for Innovation (2024)

Selected Publications

1. Paula Mellado, and Hanu Arava. Flux Jamming and Bimodal Dynamics in Bounded Spin Networks. Pre-print: https://​arx​iv​.org/​a​b​s​/​2​6​0​7​.​10045 (2026)
2. Zander Scholl, Justin Woods, Charudatta Phatak, and Hanu Arava. Physics-Informed Deep Image Prior Reconstruction of In-Plane Magnetization from Scanning NV Magnetometry. Pre-print: https://​arx​iv​.org/​a​b​s​/​2​6​0​4​.​23431 (2026)
3. Hanu Arava, Ignacio Tapia, Timothy Cote, Justin S. Woods, Frank Barrows, John Fullerton, and Paula Mellado. ​“Geometry driven intermediate states in artificial square ice structures.” Communications Materials (2026).
4. Arava, Hanu, et al. ​“Energy-relaxation pathways in finite-sized artificial square-ice structures”. Physical Review Applied 24, L031003 (2025)
5. Charudatta Phatak, John Fullerton, and Hanu Arava ​“Automated Imaging of the Annihilation of a Transverse Domain Wall in Patterned Magnetic Thin Films”. APL Materials 13, 081115 (2025)
6. Arava, Hanu, et al. ​“Real Space Imaging of Field-Driven Decision-Making in Nanomagnetic Galton Boards.” Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 086704 (2025)
7. Hofhuis, Kevin, et al. ​“Real-space imaging of phase transitions in bridged artificial kagome spin ice.” Nature Physics 18.6 (2022): 699-705.
8. Barrows, Frank, et al. ​“Mesoscale Confinement Effects and Emergent Quantum Interference in Titania Antidot Thin Films.” ACS nano 15.8 (2021): 12935-12944.
9. Arava, Hanu, et al. ​“Topological control of magnetic textures.” Physical Review B 103.6 (2021): L060407.
10. Arava, Hanu, et al. ​“Control of emergent magnetic monopole currents in artificial spin ice.” Physical Review B 102.14 (2020): 1444
11. Arava, Hanu, et al. ​“Engineering relaxation pathways in building blocks of artificial spin ice for computation.” Physical Review Applied 11.5 (2019): 054086.
12. Arava, Hanu, et al. ​“Computational logic with square rings of nanomagnets.” Nanotechnology 29.26 (2018): 265205.

Professional Activities

• Member, MRS Early Career Professionals Subcommittee (ECPSC)
• Vice-Chair, IEEE Magnetics Society, Chicago Chapter
• Member, IEEE Magnetics Society, Technical Subcommittee on Sensors, Communications, Instrumentation, and Measurement