People

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Virginia

Carly graduated in 2018 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia and joined the Burns group in June of 2018. She decided to pursue an PhD in Materials Science due to her undergraduate research into pseudowollastonite-based cement and her work with the VTRC into materials for civil engineering applications. Her project is on understanding environmental cracking in AA7050-T7451 induced by galvanic corrosion. In her free time she enjoys surfing, hiking, enjoying music, and hanging out with friends.

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Materials Science & Engineering, University of Maryland

Alex graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Maryland and joined the Burns Research Group in July 2019.  Alex is interested in failure analysis and wanted to study fracture mechanics in graduate school. His current research is focused on understanding mechanisms of high temperature fatigue in Nickel-based superalloys used in jet engine components. Outside the lab, Alex enjoys blacksmithing using his homemade forge, playing soccer, and cooking. 

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Material Science & Engineering, Lehigh University

Michael graduated from Lehigh in 2017 with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering and started his career working as a Materials Research Engineer at Metamagnetics working to develop magnetic materials for novel radio frequency device applications. His undergraduate degree had a heavy focus on metallurgy and mechanics and the interest in materials research. Michael's work at Metamagnetics led him to join the Burns Group in August 2019. His research focuses on the environmental cracking of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel. Outside of the lab Michael plays rugby (he's the president of his rugby club) and skis as much as the weather and his knees permit. Michael also enjoys swimming, playing video games, reading, and hanging out with friends.

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Sarah graduated with a bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and joined the Burns group in August of 2020. She briefly worked full-time at Procter and Gamble (P&G) in their R&D department, where she worked on Tide and Downy products. Due to her love for research and experimental work in metallurgy as an undergrad, it was natural for her to pursue a PhD. Within the Burns group, Sarah is researching environmental cracking in stainless steel nuclear waste canisters to assist in risk management and lifetime predictions for nuclear waste storage. When not researching you can find Sarah enjoying different hobbies like knitting, crochet, or hiking, and she'll always know the latest concert updates at the venues around Charlottesville!

Ph.D. Candidate

M.S. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, George Mason University

Mohammed graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from George Mason University. His passion to learn encouraged him to keep going with higher education, so he joined the Agnew group in 2019 at University of Virginia and earned his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering in 2022. He decided to join the Burns group afterwards to pursue a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering due to his interest in research related to fatigue and fracture. His current research project is on extending the fatigue life of Al-Mg and Mg-Al alloys through physics-based design and control of morphogenic instabilities during key stages of corrosion damage evolution. During his leisure time, he enjoys reading, swimming, cooking, sewing, handiwork, and hiking.

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Civil Engineering, Ohio Northern University

Javon graduated in 2020 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Ohio Northern University where he also played varsity lacrosse and upon graduating, started working at EN Engineering as a Sr. Design Engineer. At EN Engineering he designed gas lines for the northern Virginia area working closely with Washington Gas, a public utility holding company. Javon joined the Burns group in 2022 to pursue a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering with hopes of becoming an expert in failure analysis and effective failure resistant design. He is researching the influence of bulk slip morphology on the Hydrogen Environment-Assisted Cracking (HEAC) behavior of a precipitate hardened Nickel-Copper alloy. In his free time, Javon enjoys engaging in lacrosse, pick-up basketball, hiking/biking, and rocket league. 

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University

Patrick graduated in 2023 with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Penn State University and joined the Burns group in July of 2023. He decided to pursue a PhD in Materials Science due to his undergraduate research experience at Penn State working on optical limiter thin films coatings and his senior capstone experience with the Johns Hopkins applied physics lab working on additively manufactured biomimetic textures for drag reduction. His general curiosity about materials science led him to the Burns group where his current research is focused on comparing the environmentally assisted cracking behavior of additively manufactured submarine steels. Outside of the lab, Patrick enjoys playing most sports, cooking, making cocktails, and some would say he has way too many fish tanks.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Lara is a 4th year Jefferson & Rodman Scholar majoring in Materials Science & Engineering at UVA. She joined the Burns group as a first year in September of 2021, and is currently working on a project studying stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of a Russian aluminum alloy used on the International Space Station. She recently accepted a full-time position at McKinsey & Company, which she'll be starting after graduation! Outside of classes and work, Lara enjoys flying gliders, cooking, hiking, and reading murder mysteries.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Adrian is a 3rd year majoring in Chemical Engineering with a double minor in Materials Science & Engineering, and Physics at the University of Virginia. Within the Burn's Group, Adrian assists in environmental assisted cracking of aluminum alloys funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Outside of classes and work, Adrian enjoys weightlifting, running, cycling, combat sports such as boxing and muay thai, and cooking.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Grace is a second-year from Wellesley, MA, studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Materials Science & Engineering at UVA. She joined the Burns Lab in September 2024 and is currently assisting with research exploring how bulk slip morphology may affect HEAC susceptibility in a model precipitation-hardened alloy. Outside of classes and research, she is an active member of the UVA Outdoors Club and enjoys hiking, running, and skiing.

Phd, Manufacturing Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India

M.E, Production Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, India

B.E, Mechanical Engineering, St.Peter’s University, India

Rajaguru received his doctorate in the stream of Manufacturing Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), India, in March 2021. His doctoral research work focussed on examining the effect of machining induced residual stress on the stress corrosion cracking behavior of super duplex stainless steel. After his Phd, he worked as a Postdoctoral researcher at IITM on developing a Diamond like carbon (DLC) tribological coating on the inner surface of cylinders using magnetron sputtering system.  His research interests on further exploring the environmental assisted cracking (EAC) and fracture behavior of metals led him to join Burns research group in Nov 2022. He currently works on examining the EAC behavior of Al-Mg alloys, Ni based alloys, AM steel and Martensitic stainless steel. His research focuses on understanding its failure mechanism in various environments and adopting various mitigation strategies such as Laser surface modifications and Galvanic coupling to enhance its EAC resistance. He also works on high-fidelity characterization tools such as Focused ion beam milling (FIB), EBSD and TEM to perform the failure analysis in the crack tip region. Rajaguru also enjoys hiking around Charlottesville, hanging out with friends, and cooking.