~~ The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Presents

Professor Susan Sinnott

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida

Topic: Expanding the Toolbox: Design and Discovery using Material Modeling Methods

Date: Thursday, April 3, 2014

Time: 10:30am to 12:00pm (Refreshments from 10:00am to 10:30am)

Location: 442 Dana

Abstract: A driving force for much of the research that takes place in many disciplines is the discovery and design of new materials to improve existing technologies or enable new applications. Material modeling methods are now widely applied and show promise for fulfilling the ultimate goal contained within the phrase “materials by design”. This presentation will review the evolution of some common material modeling methods and their integration with cutting-edge experimental methods. Illustrative applications will be discussed within the context of nanomaterials and materials used for energy applications, including electronic devices, energy storage, and nuclear fuels. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the future outlook of materials modeling within the context of material design and discovery.

Brief bio: Susan B. Sinnott is the Alumni Professor of Materials Science and Director of the Cyberinfrastructure for Atomistic Simulation at the University of Florida. She received her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Iowa State University and was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate at the Naval Research Laboratory. She was on the faculty at the University of Kentucky before moving to the University of Florida in 2000. Susan is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Materials Research Society, American Ceramic Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and American Vacuum Society. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Computational Materials Science, a Divisional Associated Editor for Physical Review Letters, an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, a Principal Editor of the Journal of the Materials Research Society, and on the advisory board for Physics Today. She has published over 195 refereed technical papers in the area of computational materials science and engineering.