Faculty

Our research is focused primarily on metals analysis, including magnesium alloy formability, intermetallic behaviors, and aluminum alloy fatigue.

My interests are in materials informatics, density functional theory, machine learning, bayesian inference, and optimal design methods applied to accelerate the search and discovery of novel 2D materials, metallic alloys, ferroic and electronic materials.

Kory Burns is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering starting Summer 2024. Kory obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from Valdosta State University, an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering (Nuclear Engineering Program).

James T Burns is the School of Engineering and Applied Science Copenhaver Fellow and Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Virginia. He received his B.S. from the US Air Force Academy in 2002, M.S. from UVA in 2006, and Ph.D. from UVA in 2010.

My lab’s research lies at the interface of soft (bio)materials and biology. We seek to understand and control the interactions between soft (bio)materials and living systems to solve challenges in sustainability and health. We do this using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches.

Streit is a UVA Rising Scholar Research Scientist who will be an Assistant Professor in MSE, effective July 25, 2025. 

Dr. Diane Dickie joined the Chemistry Department in January 2018 as a Senior Scientist and X-Ray Crystallographer. She is has a joint appointment with the Materials Science Department. Her office is Room 103 in Jesser Hall (Materials Science and Engineering). 

Catherine Dukes directs the Laboratory for Astrophysics and Surface Physics (LASP) and provides expertise in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the University of Virginia's Nanoscale Materials Characterization Facility (NMCF). Her NSF and NASA funded research focuses on the interaction of radiation with surfaces.

Keivan Esfarjani is theoretical and computational materials scientist.  He has pioneered a method to compute phonon lifetimes and thermal conductivity of solids from density functional calculation of force constants. He has held appointments at the Institute for Materials Research of the Tohoku University, UC Santa Cruz and MIT, among others.

Jerrold Floro's research is to investigate and exploit nanoscale self-assembly and pattern formation in inorganic materials, to enhance properties and develop material functionality. Techniques include vapor phase thin film growth, laser processing, melting and rapid solidification, powder processing, and solid-state phase transformations.

Our group focuses on the synthesis of well-defined nanoparticles, their dispersion into polymer solutions and melts, and their suspension rheology. With our fundamental studies, we seek to optimize processing to achieve a desirable microstructure in industrial suspensions, and to set a foundation for developing constitutive rheological models.

Dr. Helge Heinrich joined the NMCF as the Principal Scientist for High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, with expertise in focused ion beam sample preparation and cross sectional electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) from the University of Central Florida.

Patrick E. Hopkins is a Whitney Stone Professor in Engineering at the University of Virginia, with a primary appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and courtesy appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Physics. He is also the director of the ExSiTE Lab.

James M. Howe's research focuses on: i) the application of in-situ high-resolution and analytical transmission electron microscope techniques to study mechanisms of phase transformations and the structure and properties of interphase boundaries at the atomic level, and ii) the use of valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy (plasmons). 

Ihlefeld is a Professor in the Materials Science and Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments at the University of Virginia. His group studies the process-structure-property relations in ferroelectric, dielectric, and ion-conducting oxides and uses this fundamental knowledge to improve material performance.

Professor Emeritus, Materials Science and Engineering

Robert G. Kelly has been conducting research on the corrosion of metals for the past 30 years.

Ji Ma's research explores using additive manufacturing to create materials with novel properties and incorporating these materials in designed geometry to produce functionally unique parts, focusing on the additive manufacturing of metallic alloys and control of solidification, porosity, residual stress, and micro-to-nano-scale microstructure.

Stephen McDonnell’s current research interests are centered interfaces relevant to next generation nanoelectronics devices.

Our research focuses on materials for use in extreme environments and can be applied to materials for use in aircraft engines, rocket engines, energy conversion technologies, and thermal protection systems.

Joseph Poon's research group focuses on three projects: i) Study of thermoelectric properties of semiconductors and semimetals ii) Synthesis of thin films study of ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic heterostructures that show skyrmionic state and anomalous Hall effect. iii) Study of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with properties in  composition space.

Petra Reinke received her first degree, a diploma (M.S.) from the University of Konstanz in Germany, in Chemistry where she focused on physical chemistry.

Scully's primary research interest is to understand the relationships between a material's structure and composition and properties related to environmental degradation. His historical current focus is on advanced aluminum, magnesium, titanium, ferrous and nickel-based alloys, as well as stainless steels and aluminum-based intermetallic compounds.

Dr. Shiflet's primary interests are in the kinetics and thermodynamics of phase transformations in crystalline and amorphous solids with particular emphasis on the atomic mechanism involved.Interaction potential models are used to compare experiment with theory. Results are extended to microstructure-property relationships.

Supervised by Prof. Vinayak Dravid and Dr. Jin Wang, my doctoral research at Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory was focused on fabrication and characterization of nanostructured oxides.

Joe Thompson joined the NMCF as a Laboratory Specialist, also providing analysis for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). He specializes in Raman Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and Optical and Electron Microscopies. 

Haydn N.G. Wadley is a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UVA. He has interests in materials science, composite materials, micromechanics, and thermal transport. His current research explores high temperature thermal coatings systems, microarchitectured materials, entropy stabilized refractory metal alloys and rare earth silicates.

Richard White is the NMCF Laboratory Manager and Electron Microscopy & Metallurgy Specialist. He specializes in Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging and compositional analysis; Optical Microscopy; Hardness Measurements; and Metallurgical Techniques for SEM and TEM. 

Giovanni Zangari's research interests focus on the fundamental understanding of electrochemical deposition phenomena and how atomistic processes determine microstructure and properties of materials.

Mona Zebarjadi is a joint professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Departments at the University of Virginia, where she is leading the Energy Science and Nanotechnology Lab (ESnail). 

Leonid Zhigilei is a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Virginia.

My interests are in computational thermodynamics and kinetics of materials, including first-principles alloy theory, CALPHAD, theories of phase transformations, and nonequilibrium thermodynamics. These methods are applied to lightweight alloys, high-temperature materials, and corrosion.