Research Overview
Materials are fundamental; everything around us is made of something, and the properties of that “something” dictate how we experience and interact with the world. In our research group, we explore the frontiers of materials science to push the boundaries of what materials can do. We tackle this challenge from three core perspectives:
1. Design – Can we tailor a material’s properties for a specific application?
2: Synthesis – Can we manufacture that material in a real-world environment?
3: Characterization – Did we actually make what we wanted to make? What are its properties?
Our focus is on advanced metallurgy, particularly the development and understanding of novel alloys and processing techniques. We specialize in linking composition, processing, structure, and properties. At the heart of our research is cutting-edge microscopy. We’re highly trained in TEM and related techniques, and we push the envelope by developing new imaging and analytical methods. These tools allow us to probe materials across all scales, from the macroscopic to the atomic, providing deep insight into their behavior, stability, and performance. Together, our team brings design, fabrication, and analysis into a unified framework to solve some of the most pressing challenges in materials science today.
Research Areas
Microscopy
Our group is working on advanced microscopy techniques using the FEI Themis Z S-TEM at the NRF here at the University of Florida. We are also part of a multi-university team using AI to streamline the post-processing of the massive 4D-STEM datasets that are essential to our research.
Alloy Design
Our group is working on the design of novel refractory multi-principal element alloys (RMPEAs) for high-temperature structural applications. This work explores how induced metastability and thermomechanical treatments influence microstructural evolution, phase stability, and deformation behavior.
Additive Manufacturing
Our group is in the process of setting up a laser system to perform additive metal manufacturing. Our goal is to investigate how the laser parameters affect the microstructure of various metals (including those designed in our group) under various conditions.
Refractory Rolling
Our group is investigating the possibility of improving the properties of refractory metals through the process of mechanical rolling.
