Principal Investigator
S. Pamir Alpay, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
UConn | UConn Health
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor: Materials Science & Engineering, Physics
Research Interest
Materials theory, computational materials science, and multiscale materials modeling; metal additive manufacturing; thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformations in correlated systems; materials for electrical contacts; electrothermal properties
Research Scientists
Sanjeev K. Nayak, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Materials Science & Engineering
Research Interest
First-principles thermodynamics, defects in solids, defect induced magnetism and structural transformations in complex oxides
Sanjubala Sahoo, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Materials Science & Engineering
Research Interest
First-principles modeling, physics and chemistry of surfaces, catalysis and magnetism
Baris Yavas, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Materials Science & Engineering
Research Interest
Advanced characterization techniques (Transmission Electron Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Focused Ion Beam Milling, X-ray diffraction); Microstructural development; Novel alloy development for additive manufacturing; Failure analysis; Materials in extreme environments
Serzat Safaltin, Ph.D.
Post-Doctorate Research Associate, Materials Science & Engineering
Research Interest
III-V Nitride ferroelectrics, first-principles method, molecular dynamics, phase-field modeling, device simulations.
Graduate Students
Devesh Kale
Ph.D. Student, Materials Science
Research Interest
2D Ferroelectric material, Janus materials
Taradutt Pattnaik
Ph.D. Student, Materials Science & Engineering
Research Interest
First-principles modeling, point defects
Undergraduate Students
Veronica Ayen
Undergraduate Student, Materials Science and Engineering
Research Interest
Optical properties of MXenes
Christian Bonanni
Undergraduate Student, Materials Science and Engineering
Research Interest
Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Metal Characterization, Carbon Allotropes








