Michael Free

Department Chair and Professor
Office: CME 304
Phone: 801-585-9798
Email: michael.free@utah.edu

Research Interests

My research interests include hydrometallurgy, electrometallurgy, corrosion, and materials synthesis. I have worked on a variety of research projects involving metals extraction, separation, recovery, and refining as well as corrosion, materials synthesis, and additive manufacturing. The hydrometallurgy and electrometallurgy research projects have focused on copper, gold, titanium, rare earth elements, and critical metals. The corrosion investigations have involved steel, aluminum, and additively manufactured alloys.
Google Scholar

Dmitry Bedrov

Associate Department Chair and Professor
Office: CME 207
Phone: 801-585-3949
Email: d.bedrov@utah.edu

Research Interest

My research interest lies in the area of multiscale modeling of soft-condensed matter systems that exhibit complex, multiscale structure often arising from molecular and super-molecular self-assembly.

Zlatan Aksamija

Associate Professor
Office: CME 210
Phone: 801-581-7994
Email: zlatan.aksamija@utah.edu

Research Interest

My research is in electronic materials, low-dimensional, heterostructures, and nanostructured semiconductors. The main focus of my work is on heat dissipation in nanoelectronics, nanoscale heat transport, and the coupling between electronic and thermal transport in electronic materials. These properties are especially important in two-dimensional materials such as graphene or molybdenum disulfide, where van der Waals stacking of heterogenous layers enables new properties but leads to poor interface conductance. I am also interested in the reverse problem of thermoelectric energy conversion for applications in scavenging waste heat. There, I study thermoelectric conversion in organic materials, which offer environmentally-friendly synthesis but their amorphous structure inhibits electronic transport. Using first-principles computational tools, my group sheds light on the mapping between atomic and mesoscale structure and electro-thermal transport.

Google Scholar

Jeff Bates

Assistant Professor
Office: CME 211
Phone: 801-585-0863
Email: jeff.bates@utah.edu

Research Interest

My research is on polymer materials and their interfaces with biological systems.  Our projects range from sustainable polymer materials that become nutrients for microorganisms to biomedical materials that interact with biomarkers, biological signals, hormones, and single cells.  In addition, we work on the physics of glide performance in skiing and snowboarding, where we characterize the snow interface on the temperature-dependent properties of polymers and waxes.

Darryl Butt

Professor
Office: FASB 205
Phone: 801-581-8767
Email: darryl.butt@utah.edu

Research Interest

Ravi Chandran

Professor
Office: WBB 409
Phone: 801-581-7197
Email: ravi.chandran@utah.edu

Research Interests

Physical Metallurgy and Mechanical Behavior of Materials. Research focus on fatigue and fracture mechanics, materials processing, Li-ion battery material science, modeling of diffusion phenomena, first principles methods and computational alloy design. Also performs failure analysis investigations to determine the root cause of failures in materials and structures.

Google Scholar

Zhigang Zak Fang

Professor
Office: WBB 405
Phone: 801-581-8128
Email: zak.fang@utah.edu

Research Interests

Cemented tungsten carbide, metal hydrides for hydrogen and thermal energy storage.

Sivaraman Guruswamy

Professor, Associate Dean for Academics, COS
Office: WBB 425
Phone: 801-581-7217
Email: s.guruswamy@utah.edu

Research Interests

Physical metallurgy, Magnetic and Magnetostrictive Materials, UV and THz Plasmonic Metamaterials, and Materials Processing.

Huiwen Ji

Assistant Professor
Office: CME 212
Phone:801-581-7839
Email: huiwen.ji@utah.edu

Research Interest

Though crystalline materials are often characterized by periodic order, of particular interest to my research is how correlated disorder and competing local forces give rise to unusual phenomena that are inaccessible to perfect crystals, yet are crucial for energy storage and other applications. We approach these scientific questions by coupling synthesis and property measurements with advanced total scattering and spectroscopic characterizations.
Google scholar

Jiaqi Jin

Assistant Professor
Office: WBB 410
Phone: 801-581-5775
Email: jiaqi.jin@utah.edu

Research Interest

Surface chemistry of minerals, characterization of 3D structures in micro and nano scale, and fluid flow through porous media

Mark Koopman

Research Professor
Office:
Phone:
Email: mark.koopman@utah.edu

Research Interest

The Effects of Molybdenum Additions on the Sintering and Mechanical Behavior of Ultrafine-Grained Tungsten.

Chen-Luh Lin

Research Professor Emeritus
Office: WBB 205
Phone: 801-581-5309
Email: chenluh.lin@utah.edu

Research Interest

Particle damage and exposure analysis in HPGR crushing of selected copper ores for column leaching.

Feng Liu

Distinguished Professor
Ivan B. Cutler Endowed Professor
Office: CME 213
hone: 801-587-7719
Email: fliu@eng.utah.edu

Research Interests

My research interests lie in the materials modeling and simulation from the atomic to mesoscopic scales. We develop and apply both first-principles computational methods and phenomenological theoretical models to study a wide spectrum of materials properties in various materials systems. Most recently, we have focused on modeling and simulation of properties of surfaces and interfaces, growth mechanisms of thin films, and self-assembly and self-organization of nanostructures.
Google Scholar

Jan Miller

Ivor D. Thomas Disinguished Professor
Office: WBB 216
Phone: 801-581-5160
Email: jan.miller@utah.edu

Research Interests

Mineral processing and coal preparation, flotation separations.

Manoranjan Misra

Professor Emeritus
Office:
Phone: 801-573-5614
Email: mano.misra@utah.edu

Research Interests

Renewable and alternate energy, biofuels, nuclear waste recycling.

Swomitra Mohanty

Associate Professor
Office: WBB 209A
Phone: 801-587-7299
Email: swomitra.mohanty@utah.edu

Research Interests

Titanium-oxide nanotubes for organic compounds (VOCs) detection for disease diagnosis.

Prashant Sarswat

Research Associate Professor
Office:
Phone:
Email: prashant.sarswat@utah.edu

Research Interests

Laser-Assisted Manufacturing, Material Design and Development, 2D Layered Materials, Recycling, Materials Chemistry.

Mike Scarpulla

Professor
Office: MEB 2138
Phone: 801-585-1231
Email: scarpulla@eng.utah.edu

Research Interest

Compound semiconductor research, laser processing of compound semiconductors, and photovoltaics. We have current projects in CdTe, CZTSSe, and III-V’s.
Google Scholar

Dinesh Shetty

Professor Emeritus
Office:
Phone:
Email: d.shetty@utah.edu

Research Interest

Design, Process and Characterize Functional and Structural Ceramics. Two specific areas of interest are designing functionally-graded carbides in Group VB metal (Ta, Nb, V) -C binary systems and magnetic-field induced texture in non-cubic oxide ceramics for optical and electro-optical applications.
Google Scholar

Michael Simpson

Professor
Office: CME 311
Phone: 801-581-4013
Email: michael.simpson@utah.edu

Research Interests

Nuclear fuel pyroprocessing, Molten salt electrochemistry and spectroscopy.
Google Scholar

Hong Yong Sohn

Distinguished Professor
Office: WBB 403
Phone: 801-581-5491
Email: h.y.sohn@utah.edu

Research Interest

Chemical Synthesis of Inorganic Nanomaterials, Hydrogen Storage Materials Development, Metallurgical Process Engineering, Fluid.

Gerald Stringfellow

Distinguished Professor
Office: MEB 3110
Phone: 801-581-8387
Email: stringfellow@coe.utah.edu

Research Interests

Ceramics, advanced materials, microelectronics, and a broad range of topics related to materials science and electronics.
Google Scholar
Video Summary

Taylor Sparks

Associate Professor
Office: CME 314
Phone: 801-581-8632
Email: sparks@eng.utah.edu

Research Interest

Materials informatics and using machine learning to discover, synthesize, and characterize new energy materials.
Google Scholar

Pei Sun

Research Associate Professor
Office: WBB 506
Phone: 801-581-6031
Email: pei.sun@utah.edu

Research Interests

Powder Metallurgy; Additive Manufacturing

Ashutosh Tiwari

Professor
Office: CME 317
Phone: 801-585-1666
Email: tiwari@eng.utah.edu

Research Interest

My research is on advanced materials for application in a variety of areas including Nano-Electronics, Spintronics, Spin-Caloritronics, Thermoelectrics and Gas Sensors. We use pulsed laser deposition technique for designing new functional materials and smart structures. Our current emphasis is on Oxide and Chalcogenides based 2D materials.

Anil Virkar

Distinguished Professor
H. Kent Bowen Endowed Professor

Office: CME 316-315
Phone: 801-581-5396
Email: anil.virkar@m.cc.utah.edu

Research Interest

Research interests in fuel cells, batteries, sensors, high temperature materials (ceramics), solid state and liquid state electrochemistry, materials synthesis, energy-related research.

Chen Wang

Assistant Professor
Office: CME 217
Phone:801-581-6597
Email: chen.wang@utah.edu

Research Interest

Most polymer materials are not recycled today because they are not designed to be recyclable. Our research group is broadly interested in recyclable-by-design polymer materials that enable a circular economy of plastics, composites, flexible electronics, etc. Our approach integrates molecular design, structure-property relationship, and performance-driven process development. Please check out the group website for more information.

Google Scholar

Xuming Wang

Research Professor
Office: WBB 610
Phone: 801-585-1797
Email: x.wang@utah.edu

Research Interest

Flotation chemistry, Spectroscopy analysis at surface and interface, Industrial mineral processing, Wastewater treatment, Gypsum dehydration/rehydration processing, Development of Li-ion battery.

Xinbo Yang

Assistant Professor
Office: WBB 417
Phone: 801-581-5782
Email: xinbo.yang@utah.edu

Research Interest

Mineral processing and extractive metallurgy with research interests in rare earth element extraction and purification, integration of biotechnologies in extractive metallurgy, strategic material recycling, coal preparation, and mine waste treatment.

Ling Zang

Professor
Office: SMBB 5543
Phone: 801-587-1551
Email: LZANG@eng.utah.edu

Research Interest

Current research interests include molecular self-assembly, organic semiconductors and nanostructures, nanoscale imaging, molecular probe, fluorescence sensing, optoelectronic sensors and nanodevices, as well as the relevant applications in solar energy conversion, and trace chemical and explosives detection.
Google Scholar