MSE Colloquium: Michael Demkowicz, Interface design using reduced order mesoscale models

Abstract

Computational materials science brings a physics-based materials design capability within reach. However, design of materials for properties such as strength or stability is challenging because it deals with inherently collective mechanisms operating at multiple time and length scales. I will present a design strategy built on reduced order mesoscale models, or ROMMS, which afford simplified descriptions of the essential physics of complex, collective materials phenomena. To illustrate this approach, I will describe the construction of a ROMM for predicting the structure of semicoherent interfaces. I will then demonstrate how to use this ROMM to design solid-state interfaces for tailored diffusivity, templated precipitation, and controlled shearing resistance.

Bio

Michael J. Demkowicz did his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, receiving three Bachelor’s degrees in 2000: BS Physics, BS Aerospace Engineering, and BA Plan II Honors (a core-curriculum liberal arts program). He did his graduate work with A. S. Argon at MIT, receiving his MS and PhD in mechanical engineering in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Afterwards, he spent three years at Los Alamos National Laboratory, first as a postdoc, then as a Director’s Fellow, and finally as a technical staff member. In 2008, Demkowicz joined the faculty at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, receiving the John C. Chipman career development char. In 2012, he received an NSF CAREER award and the TMS Early Career Faculty Fellow award. Demkowicz works at the intersection of fundamental materials physics and computational design of structural materials.