Research

Overview

Our project addresses the science of nonequilibrium processes by searching for and identifying the design rules for synthesis pathways of metastable materials. We will combine computational methods, including AI, with experimental approaches utilizing pressure, temperature, and magnetic fields to transform amorphous precursor materials into desired phases that are kinetically stable at ambient conditions and persist indefinitely at ambient conditions. We will build the fundamental knowledge base to discover and design materials that exhibit unusual compositions and structures, are inaccessible to synthesis processes at ambient pressure, and provide desirable properties and functionality for applications such as superconductivity, magnetism, and superhardness.

Funding

Our research is currently supported by the National Science Foundation under the DMREF program, grant number 2118718. Previously our team was supported by the Department of Energy, Basic Energy Science.