Our faculty are leaders in the fields of Materials Science and Engineering and Solid-State Science.

Materials Science & Engineering Faculty

William E. Bailey, MSE Program Committee Chair
Nanoscale magnetic films and heterostructures, materials issues in spin-polarized transport, materials engineering of magnetic dynamics

Katayun Barmak
Processing and structure (crystal structure and microstructure) relationships to electrical and magnetic properties of metal films; developing transmission electron microscopy automated orientation imaging techniques that can be applied to the study of nanostructured materials; use of differential scanning calorimetry for the study solid state reactions and phase transformations in thin films

Simon J. L. Billinge
Amorphous and nanostructured pharmaceuticals and molecular materials, methods for solving the nanostructure problem, nanoscale fluctuations in exotic electronic materials, nanostructured materials for energy and environmental remediation, software for complex modeling and nanostructure determination

Siu-Wai Chan
Metal oxides, crystal-size-related structural changes and properties in nanoparticles, thin films, grain boundaries and interfaces as well as their corresponding electrical properties

Aravind Devarakonda 
quantum materials synthesis, nanodevice fabrication, low-temperature physics; superconductivity, strongly-correlated matter, topologically ordered phases

Alexander L. Gaeta
Ultrafast nonlinear optics, nanophotonics, nonlinear propagation in fibers and bulk media, photonic crystal fibers, coherent interactions of laser light with matter, the generation of non-classical light fields, stimulated scattering processes

Oleg Gang
Joint with Chemical Engineering
Soft matter physics, programmable self-assembly of nanoscale systems, soft and biomaterials with tailored functions

James Im
Laser-induced crystallization of thin films, phase transformations and nucleation in condensed systems

Michal Lipson
Joint with Electrical Engineering
Physics and application of nanoscale photonic structures; light confining structures that can slow down, enhance and manipulate light; photonic structures can enhance light-matter interaction by orders of magnitude, enabling the devices optical properties to be controlled externally, either optically or electro-optically

Chris A. Marianetti 
Predicting materials properties from first-principles computations; materials with energy related applications; density-functional theory; dynamical mean-field theory; transition-metal oxides; actinides, energy storage and conversion materials

I. Cevdet Noyan
Joint with Earth & Environmental Engineering
Characterization and modeling of mechanical and micromechanical deformation; residual stress analysis and nondestructive testing; x-ray and neutron diffraction, microdiffraction analysis

Ponisseril Somasundaran
Earth and Environmental Engineering - Affiliated Faculty
Surface and colloid chemistry of minerals, materials and microbes, molecular interactions at surfaces using advanced spectroscopy, polymer and surfactant adsorption, flocculation/dispersion, biosurface phenomena, environmental engineering (waste treatment), enhanced recovery of oil and coal cleaning

Renata M. M. Wentzcovitch
Joint with Earth & Environmental Sciences
Computational materials physics, simulation of matter at extreme conditions, mineral physics

John Wright
Electrical Engineering - Affiliated Faculty

Yuan Yang
Exploration of novel materials and chemistry for advanced energy storage, thermal harvesting and management, investigation of fundamental structure-property correlations and chemical processes in energy materials and devices
 

Cross-Cutting Research

Our faculty's cross-cutting research addresses key and emerging areas in society, such as energy, environment, and health