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Research inside of Marek Urban's lab.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering

People

Dr. Kyle Brinkman - Chair

Dr. Brinkman outside of Sikes Hall on campus.

Kyle Brinkman has advanced research into batteries, fuel cells, and nuclear waste management. By colleagues, he has been lauded as an innovative scholar who has made important contributions to materials science and engineering while mentoring young professionals and students. A Clemson University alumnus, Brinkman traveled the world before returning to his alma mater as an associate professor in 2015 and then chair in 2019.

He received a B.S. in chemical engineering and an M.S. in materials science and engineering, both from Clemson. After receiving his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, Brinkman served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Institute in Japan. He later worked as a principal engineer in the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Lab.

  • Academician with the World Academy of Ceramics
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Fellow of The American Ceramic Society
  • Navrotsky Award for Experimental Thermodynamics of Solids
  • Brimacombe Medalist by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
  • Karl Schwartzwalder-Professional Achievement in Ceramic Engineering (PACE) Award
Brinkman Profile

Meet Our Faculty & Staff

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering has 125 undergraduate students (not including first-year students) and graduate students. The department has over 20 full-time faculty members who teach and perform research on a broad range of topics and nearly 30 administrative, technical, and research staff members.

Primary Faculty

Dilpuneet Aidhy profile Dilpuneet Aidhy

Associate Professor 
(864) 656-4307
daidhy@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Density Functional Theory, Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Machine Learning, Alloys, Oxides, Defects in Materials, Mechanical Properties, Materials Thermodynamics, Databases and Frameworks

Group: cecas.clemson.edu/aidhy/

John Ballato John M. Ballato

J.E. Sirrine Foundation Endowed Chair of Optical Fibers and Professor 
(864) 656-1035
jballat@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Optical and Optoelectronic Properties of Materials; Optical Fiber Fabrication; Rare-Earth Doping for Active and Passive Optical Applications

Group: https://cecas.clemson.edu/ballato/

Vincent Blouin Vincent Blouin

Associate Professor, Joint Appointment with Architecture
(864) 656-5352
vblouin@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Materials; Mechanical Engineering; Modeling of Structural and Thermal Systems

Rajendra Bordia Rajendra K Bordia

George J. Bishop, III Chair Professor of Ceramics and Materials Engineering

(864) 656-5228
rbordia@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Ceramics for Extreme Environments and for Energy Conservation and Storage; Multilayered Ceramics, Ceramic Coatings; Porous Ceramics; Ceramic Composites; Molecular Precursor-Derived Nanostructured  Ceramics

Kyle S. Brinkman Kyle S. Brinkman

Professor and Department Chair
(864) 656-1405
ksbrink@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Ceramics; Fuel Cells; Energy Materials including Ionic Conduction; Nuclear Materials and Experimental Thermodynamics of Materials

Group: https://cecas.clemson.edu/ceramicmaterials4energy/

Philip Brown Philip J. Brown

Swetenburg Professor
(864) 656-6072
pjb@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Polymer Membranes; Textile Chemistry; Photonic Fibers; Spinning, Electrospinning of Fibers; Melt Spinning of Multi-Component Materials; Dyeing & Finishing

Stephen Foulger Stephen H. Foulger

Gregg-Graniteville Endowed Chair and Professor
Director of COMSET
(864) 656-1045
foulger@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Polymer Physics; Multifunctional Materials; Optical and Optoelectronic Properties of Materials; Colloid Synthesis; Intrinsically Conductive Polymers; Biomedical Contrast Colloids; Protein Separation Nanoparticles; Photodynamic Therapy Nanoparticles

Group: http://tahoe.clemson.edu

Dong Hou Dong Hou

Assistant Professor
(864) 656-1946
hou4@clemson.edu

Research Areas:

Solid-state Synthesis; Microstructure Engineering; Crystallography, Energy Storage; Electrochemistry; Advanced Characterization; Machine Learning

Luiz G. Jacobsohn Luiz G. Jacobsohn

Associate Professor
(864) 656-5965
luiz@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Luminescent Materials; Scintillators; Luminescent Dosimeters; Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Matter; Radiation Damage; Synthesis and Processing of Ceramic Materials; Structure-Property Relationships

Group: https://cecas.clemson.edu/~luiz/ 

Mark Johnson Mark A Johnson

Thomas F. Hash Endowed Chair in Sustainable Development and Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing
(864) 656-9748
majohn@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Sustainability; Advance Manufacturing; Energy

Marian Kennedy Marian Kennedy

Associate Professor
(864) 656-5349
mskenne@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Mechanical Behavior of Thin Films and Bulk Materials; Tribology of Metallic Systems; Engineering Education Related to Undergraduate Research and Self-Efficacy for Materials Science

Group: kennedyresearch.org

Konstantin Kornev Konstantin Kornev

Professor
(864) 656-6541
kkornev@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Bio-inspirational Materials

Group: https://cecas.clemson.edu/kornevlab/

Olga Kuksenok Olga Kuksenok

Associate Professor
(864) 656-5956
okuksen@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Computational Design of Biomimetic Materials; Theory and Computer Simulations of Multi-Component Polymeric Systems; Modeling Pattern Formation in Non-Equilibrium Systems

Group: https://cecas.clemson.edu/kuksenoklab/

Igor Luzinov Igor Luzinov

Kentwool Distinguished Professor
(864) 656-5958
luzinov@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Nanofabrication of Thin Polymer Films; Multi-Component Polymer Systems and Composites

Thompson Mefford O. Thompson Mefford

Associate Professor
(864) 656-2486
mefford@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Polymers; Nanomaterials; Magnetism; Environmental

Group: http://meffordresearch.com/

Fei PengFei Peng

Associate Professor
(864) 656-4134
fpeng@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Smart Embedded Strain Sensors for Joint Replacement; Laser-Based Additive/Subtractive Manufacturing of Ceramic Devices; Microstructure Prediction and Engineering Using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence; Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Materials; Sintering and Grain Growth; High-Temperature Kinetics and Microstructure

Group: https://fpeng.people.clemson.edu/

Saez profile Enrique Martinez Saez

Associate Professor, Joint appointment with Mechanical Engineering
(864) 656-5640
enrique@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Microstructure Evolution under Extreme Conditions; Thermodynamic and Kinetics of Alloys; Advanced Manufacturing; Mechanical Properties of Heterogeneous Solids; Elasticity and Plasticity; Defect Properties; Data Analytics; and Machine Learning

Cheng Sun Cheng Sun

Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Joint Appointment)
(864) 656-3292
csun2@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Additive Manufacturing; Electron Microscopy; Computational Modeling; Molecular Dynamics; and Machine Learning

Jianhua Tong Jianhua Tong

Professor
(864) 656-4954
jianhut@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Sustainable Clean Energy; Electrochemical Cells; Solid Electrolyte Batteries; Catalytic Membrane Reactors; Hydrogen Production; Ammonia Synthesis; Carbon Dioxide Reduction; Solar Fuel Production; Solid State Ionics; 3D printing; Laser Processing.

Group: https://cecas.clemson.edu/tonggroup/

Marek Urban Marek W. Urban

J.E. Sirrine Foundation Endowed Chair in Advanced Fiber-Based Materials and Professor
(864) 656-1155/0549
mareku@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Polymer Design; Colloidal Synthesis; Self-healing Polymers; Surface and Interfacial Reactions; Stimuli-Responsive Materials; Biopolymers; Vibrational Spectroscopy and Molecular Imaging

Group: http://cecas.clemson.edu/urbanresearch/

Kim Weirich Kimberly Weirich

Assistant Professor
(864) 656-8713
weirich@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Soft Matter; Biological and Bio-Inspired Materials; Active Matter; Biological Physics; Liquid Crystals; Biopolymers

Group: www.weirichlab.com

Tianyu Zhu profile Tianyu Zhu

Assistant Professor
(864) 656-9717
tzhu2@clemson.edu

Research Areas:
Polymer Synthesis; Ceramic Engineering; Coating; Composite Materials; Battery Electrolytes and Electrodes; Battery Manufacturing

Group: www.zhuchemistry.org

Staff

Tonya Bledsoe

Tonya Bledsoe
Office Manager/Assistant to the Director
(864) 656-3176
bledsoe@clemson.edu

Laura Kinard

Laura Kinard
Student Services Program Manager
(864) 656-1512
lkinard@clemson.edu

Diane Swope

Diane Swope
Accountant & Procurement Support
(864) 656-1116
dswope@clemson.edu

Kimberly Ivey

Kimberly Ivey
Analytical Lab Manager
(864) 656-5968
ikimber@clemson.edu

Jae Lowe

James (Jae) Lowe
Laboratory Supervisor
(864) 656-5972
Jaelowe@clemson.edu

James Lowe

Stanley Justice
Laboratory Specialist
(864) 656-5978
jstanle@clemson.edu

Joel Barden

Joel Barden
Laboratory Technologist
(864) 656-0747
jmbarde@clemson.edu

David White

David White
Systems Programmer
(864) 508-1492
wdavid@clemson.edu

Associated Faculty