People

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.

James T Burns is Heinz and Doris Wilsdorf Distinguished Research Professor of Materials Science and Engineering 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.

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).

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.

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.

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.