Corrosion and Electrochemistry

Our corrosion and electrochemistry research tackles real-world issues that resist easy solutions.

sample on a piece of materials science lab equipment

We pursue fundamental research to identify the crux of the problem — and find methods to remedy it. Our network of relationships with companies of all sizes — from Fortune 10 companies to startups — and with major government research laboratories amplifies opportunities to conduct application-driven research. Our reputation and reach extends to foreign sponsors such as POSCO, AkzoNobel and Petrobras. We work with companies like Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Axalta, PPG, and Arconic as well as with the Air Force, Naval, and the Army Research Laboratories. We also partner often with small businesses to help develop new corrosion sensing, protection and prediction methodologies.

Research Groups

Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering

The Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering is a multi-disciplinary research effort which includes activities in the departments of materials science and engineering and chemical engineering, as well as interactions with electrical engineering, computer science and physics. John Scully and Rob Kelly serve as co-directors of the center.

Jimmy Burns Research Group

Our research is primarily directed towards investigating environmental fracture in structural metals, including ultra-high strength steels, 5xxx and 7xxx-series aluminum and Ni-based superalloys; we strive to understand how the environment influences their properties and performance.

Rob Kelly Research Group

Our research group probes the fundamentals of localized corrosion and studies electrochemical and chemical conditions inside localized corrosion sites in various alloy systems, involving atomistic and continuum modeling of electrochemical processes and development of embeddable corrosion micro-instruments.

John Scully Group

Our research group's primary research interest is to understand the relationships between a material's structure and composition and properties related to environmental degradation, specifically hydrogen embrittlement, stress corrosion cracking, localized corrosion and passivity of materials.

Giovanni Zangari Research Group

My research group grows and characterizes metallic, semiconductive and dielectric films for advanced applications in magnetics, microelectronics, actuation and energy conversion. We develop novel electrochemical processes for the practical fabrication of sensors and devices and optimize electrochemical methods to synthesize nanostructures.