Postdoctoral Associates
Currently recruiting two positions
MSE Graduate Students
Cole Franz
Education: BS & MS Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee – Knoxville (UTK)
Research Project: Cole’s research focuses on characterizing and understanding complex residual elastic strain fields in solid-state welds. For this purpose, he has applied X-ray and neutron diffraction to non-destructively quantify microstructural evolution and residual stresses within a solid-state additive manufacturing process, additive friction-stir deposition. To achieve these goals, he is developing novel methodologies in conjunction with scientists at BNL, ORNL, and LANL, including more economical ways to collect high-volume datasets and a better understanding of true uncertainty in residual elastic strain.
Sean Drewry
Education: BS Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T) & MS Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee – Knoxville (UTK)
Research Project: Sean is a PhD researcher at UTK developing and characterizing advanced materials for extreme environments. His work focuses on understanding radiation-induced phase transitions in silicate phases for nuclear concrete applications and designing thermal barrier coatings with tailored mechanical and thermophysical properties for high-temperature aerospace applications. His research has included a cradle-to-grave approach of material analysis utilizing characterization techniques from advanced synchrotron X-ray and neutron scattering facilities to electron microscopy.
Joshua Safin
Education: BS in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee – Knoxville (UTK)
Research Project: Joshua is a material scientist with an interest in compositionally complex materials, especially ceramics. His main focus has been in compositional design and its relationship to stability and properties. A wide skillset is employed in both synthesis and characterization using advanced milling and solid state sintering techniques to develop unique ceramics and characterize them using a range of X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques, electron microscopy, thermal property measurements, and statistical analysis.
Kennedy Agyekum
Research Project: Kennedy’s research involves advanced characterization of solid-state materials, concentrating on hydrogen conduction in solid oxides for fuel cell and energy storage applications. He studies the structure and properties of triple-conducting oxides and titanate oxyhydrides using neutron and X-ray scattering, as well as other advanced characterization techniques. He is also a student member of the Diffraction Group, Neutron Scattering Division, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He works in the the Hydrogen in Energy and Information Sciences (HEISs) EFRC.
Jade Holliman
Education: BS in Physics from Fisk University in Nashville, TN
Research: Jade is investigating the synthesis and structure/property characterization of compositionally complex oxides for extreme environment applications. His research includes synthesizing compositionally complex rare earth defect-fluorite oxides via solid-state synthesis and characterizing their microstructures utilizing powerful techniques such as laboratory X-ray diffraction (XRD), synchrotron and neutron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). The thermal, mechanical, electronic, and radiative properties of these oxides are measured and correlated to the microstructure. Jade is a member of UT Knoxville’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), known as the Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CAMM), that began in 2023 through funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Ankita Bebarta
Education: BS in Electronics and Instrumentation, National Institute of Science and Technology, India & MS in Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute and Technology, India
Research Project: Ankita’s PhD focuses on high-entropy rare-earth ceramics for extreme-environment dielectric and magnetic applications. She tailors multi-principal compositions to control size disorder and lattice dynamics, linking structure–property relationships to performance. She contributes to UT Knoxville’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), known as the Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CAMM).
Margarita Petrova
Education: MS in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)
Research: Margarita is a student in Energy Science and Engineering (EES) in the Bredesen Center and a member of the Diffraction Group in the Neutron Scattering Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Her research projects center on advancing the understanding of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) through the application of advanced neutron scattering techniques. In her first project, she investigates the thermal degradation behavior of layered oxides containing nickel, manganese, and cobalt. By employing total neutron scattering, this work aims to reveal the atomic-scale mechanisms that underlie structural instabilities during high-temperature operation, providing insights critical for improving the durability and safety of LIBs. In a complimentary project, she examines the local structure of manganese-rich disordered rock salt (DRX) oxides, a promising class of next-generation cathode materials. Using neutron diffraction and total neutron scattering, combined with Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analyses from state-of-the-art national neutron scattering facilities, she aims to elucidate the short-range ordering and disorder effects that govern their electrochemical behavior. Together, these projects contribute to a more fundamental understanding of structure–property relationships in cathode materials, with the long-term goal of guiding the design of safer, higher-performance LIBs.
Hunter Lambert
Education: BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK)
Research: Hunter is a PhD student in the Materials Science and Engineering Department with a background in mechanical engineering and additive manufacturing. His research is focused on cold spray additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy, and their use in the defense industry. He has recently completed an internship with the Army Research Lab at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds researching the cold spraying of novel aluminum alloys.
Kaden Casteneda
Education: BS in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK)
Research Project: Kaden’s PhD research relates to the synthesis and characterization of ultra-high temperature ceramics for the application of thermal protection systems. He has an applied interest in the effects of optimizing thermal and mechanical properties of ceramics by utilizing mechanochemistry and crystal chemical design. Primary techniques Kaden is utilitizing in his research include X-ray diffraction, transient plane source (TPS) method, SEM/EDXS analysis, and dilatometry. He is supported by an Air Force Research Laboratory project.
Undergraduate Student Researchers
Lemona Thompson
UTK CBE class of 2026
Research Project: Lemona’s reseach involves synthesizing rare earth zirconates via solid state synthesis. She utilizes various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dilatometry, and transient planar source (TPS) method to identify crystallographic phase, chemical composition, microstructure/morphology, and thermal properties.
Tadi Chaparadza
UTK MSE class of 2028
Research Project: Tadi is working on solid state chemistry methods to improve properties of advanced refractory compositionally complex ceramics.