People

Professor

Dr. John R. Scully is the Charles Henderson Chaired Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), the Co-director of the Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering. Previously, Dr. Scully was a senior technical staff member at Sandia National Laboratories and the David Taylor Naval Research and Development Center. Dr. Scully received a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University in Materials Science and Engineering.

He has been devoted to research and education in corrosion focusing on the effects of material structure, composition, and environment on corrosion of both novel advanced materials, coatings, and legacy materials. Electrochemistry, surface science, and material science are frequently integrated in his research to advance fundamental understanding and engineering of corrosion issues. He has co-authored over 250 archival papers, proceedings articles, and books or book chapters.

Dr. Scully has served as a consultant to or member of numerous blue ribbon panels dealing with national and international corrosion issues in several countries, including the Columbia Space Shuttle Accident Investigation Board, Boeing aircraft failure investigation, Areceibo observatory failure investigation and more. He has made key contributions to several NMAB national academy, defense science task force, and international corrosion reviews.

Research Associate

Belarusian State Technological University B.S. Environmental Engineering (2009); M.S. Inorganic Chemistry (2012) Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry of National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (IGIC NAS of Belarus); Doctorate of Physical Chemistry (2015)

Dr. Romanovskaia joined Scully research group as PDRA in April 2021. In Scully’s group, Elena works under DOE Energy Frontiers Research Project (EFRC) focusing on investigating the oxide layer formation/dissolution kinetics and its electrochemical properties for the molten salts and RTILs. Additional work involves in-situ and ex-situ studies of the passivity of nickel base superalloys and MPEAs in aqueous solutions using in-situ and ex-situ methods.

In her free time, Elena loves traveling, singing, learning languages watching and doing sport.

Email: ggd2dr@virginia.edu; Google Scholar

Research Scientist

Belarusian State Technological University, B.S. Engineer-Chemist-Ecologist  (2004); Belarusian State Technological University, Ph.D. Chemical Engineering (2008);

Dr. Romanovski joined Scully research group as a research scientist in Feburary 2022. In 2018, Dr. Romanovski was a leading expert in the Scientific and Research Center of Functional Nano-Ceramics, National University of Science and Technology MISIS (Moscow, Russia). He was also the senior researcher at Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. 

His research expertise ranges from chemical engineeirng, enviromental engineering, materials engineering, to corrosion science and engineering. 

Email: rvd9ar@virginia.edu; Google Scholar

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Chemistry, Radford University, 2016

Angela is utilizing various AC and DC electrochemistry techniques and ex-situ and in-situ characterization techniques to understand the passivity of multiple principal element alloys (MPEAs) during aqueous oxidation. Particularly investigations are focused on understanding the nature of the oxide film, the fate of alloying elements, and how beneficial alloying elements like Cr affect MPEA passivity and how it compares to conventional alloys, like stainless steels.

Ph.D. Candidate

Bucknell University / Mechanical Engineering

Lauren graduated from Bucknell University in 2018 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Physics. She performed research on the processing of electrospun polymeric nanofibers at NIST, which led to her interest in additive manufacturing. She is currently researching hydrogen interactions in additively manufactured stainless steels. Outside the lab, her interests include playing volleyball and listening to classic rock.

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. University of Virginia: Engineering Science, Material Science and Engineering concentration 2017

CRD4TT@virginia.edu

Charles (Chuck) is originally from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. After high school, he joined the United States Navy, as a nuclear electrician on submarines. He served for a combined 10 years on the USS Honolulu (SSN – 718), The USS Seawolf (SSN – 21), and at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command. After the Navy, he earned his B.S. from the University of Virginia, where he worked as an undergraduate research assistant working on passivity in Ni-Cr-Mo superalloys and the effects of hydrogen on Cobalt alloys. As a graduate student, he was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and works on the long-term storage of Kr-85 radioactive gas. Outside the lab his interests include books, watching basketball, and traveling.

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Materials Science and Engineering, University of Idaho, 2018

Alen was born and raised in Idaho. He graduated from the University of Idaho, Moscow studying materials science and engineering. Working with Dr. Raja the latter half of his undergraduate experience, Alen was able to publish two papers prior to graduate school on projects related to the stability of FTO glass and the corrosion resistance of the Fe-Cr alloy system. This undergraduate initiative to conduct research and ability to market himself landed Alen in the Scully group where he is now working on corrosion protection of 7xxx series Aluminum alloy via metal rich primers. In his free time, he enjoys chatting with friends, skiing, and leisure reading.``

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. Purdue University; Material Science and Engineering, 2019

Sbi3dk@virginia.edu

Sam is originally from Madison, WI and graduated with honors from Purdue University with a degree in MSE and chemistry minor while researching casting and zone refining optimization. He joined CESE in the fall of 2019 designing compositionally complex alloys with a focus on the passivation and marine corrosion through an ONR sponsored project. He hopes to future teaching in the academic field with an interest in electrochemical based manufacturing processes. He currently serves as the GSB service chair.

Ph.D. Candidate

M.S, University of Florida, Materials Science and Engineering, 2020
B.S. (Hons.), IIEST Shibpur, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, 2018

ds8vw@virginia.edu | LinkedIn

Deb comes from Nagpur, a city in the heart of India. At Scully group, he fuses both his passions for corrosion and alloy design. His research explores the effects of chemical short range order and addition of third elements in MPEAs towards their passivation behavior. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, being an avid wildlife photographer, and playing badminton in the Virginia Club Badminton. He currently serves as the quals chair for GSB.

Ph.D. Candidate

B.S. (Salutatorian, Hons), Chemical and Materials Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 2020

hc4ry@virginia.edu, Linkedin

Lun is utilizing advanced electrochemical methods to investigate the corrosion mechanism and survivability of passivated & irradiated nuclear reactor alloys in all sorts of extreme environments, e.g. aqueous, ionic liquids, liquid metals, molten salts.

Lun seeks to change the world through research and materials entrepreneurship and is currently serving as a Student Board of Trustee in ASM International. Lun enjoys cooking in his spare time. 

Ph.D. Student

B.S. (Hons.), Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 2022

pc5mx@virginia.edu

Peter is from Oakland, California, and graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with a joint major in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering while researching aqueous Zn-Mn secondary battery electrode compositions. He joined the CESE in 2022 working in the Scully group. He is passionate about leveraging electrochemistry to develop lightweight and corrosion resistant next-generation materials. Outside the lab, he enjoys reading history books and playing pickup basketball.  

M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
B.S., Nuclear Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University

kuz8vk@virginia.edu

Minh is a first-year graduate student in the department of materials science and engineering. He is dual-advised by Prof. Scully and Prof. Ma working on the corrosion of additively manufactured aerospace alloys. In his spare time, he loves cooking pho and smashing Deb in badminton at the Virginia Club Badminton.

B.S. - Materials Science and Engineering - Alfred University 2022.

kte8kk@virginia.edu

Catherine is a first-year graduate student in the department of materials science and engineering. He is dual-advised by Prof. Scully and Prof. Opila working on understanding the oxidation behavior of high-entropy alloys in mixed environments.

Undergraduate Researcher

4th year, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia (Expect Graduatuation: Spring 2024)

I am a fourth year materials science major from Charlottesville, Va. I conduct research in corrosion, focusing on the antiviral properties of copper alloys. Outside of school, I am on the UVA's club tennis and ski racing teams.

Undergraduate Researcher

4th year, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia (Expect Graduation: Spring 2024)

My name is Ben Kuster. I am a fourth year majoring in Materials Science and Engineering and minoring in Computer Science. I have done work in carbon fiber manufacturing and aerospace materials. I am currently doing research in the Scully group on molten salt corrosion for nuclear reactor applications. I am examining the corrosion morphology and corrosion damage depth for chromium and nickel single crystals. My work aims to increase the knowledge and safety of these Generation IV reactor designs.

Undergraduate Researcher

Associates of Science and Engineering, Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) (Expected Graduation Spring 2023)

Katie is a prospective transfer student to UVA DMSE. She plans to obtain a material science and engineering bachelor’s degree at UVA by 2025-2026. Katie’s high school experience in an environmental studies academy, her love of math, and a PVCC physics class led her to discover the world of material science. She joined the group in June 2022 as a summer researcher assisting Sam and Deb in studying the passivation behavior of Fe-Cr-Al-Ti alloys. She liked the research and continued the group and has now multiple projects assisting the post-docs as well. She loves visiting family and friends, and can be found reading, and befriending dogs in her free time.

Undergraduate Researcher

1st year, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia (Expect Graduatuation: Spring 2027)

Joey is a UVA first year from Bethesda, MD, currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in materials engineering with a minor in linguistics. He joined the Scully group in 2023 and is excited to continue learning corrosion theroy and experimental techniques. Outside of research, Joey competes for the UVA Model UN travel team and practices amateur game development. He also enjoys backpacking, skiing, cooking, climbing, playing tennis, and is an avid cactus enthusiast.

Undergraduate Researcher

1st year, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia (Expected Graduation: Spring 2027)

Kyle is a first-year undergraduate student with a passion for MSE. He is currently helping Lun as well as learning about molten salt fluoride corrosion on metal. Eventually, he hopes to present his own research. In his spare time, he enjoys road cycling, movies, and traveling.