Design of Low-Hysteresis High-Susceptibility Materials by Nanodomain Engineering

This award supports theoretical and computational research aimed to develop new design concepts and principles for shape memory alloys, and ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials to achieve improved functionality for various applications. In these materials structural domains can switch from one to another by the application of an external field, such as stress, electric or magnetic fields, allowing sensing and actuation to be realized simultaneously. These smart materials have found critical applications in many fields, including medical devices, satellites, robots, navigation systems, data storage and retrieving, electromechanical and electro-optic systems, to name a few. However, typical domain structures formed in these materials are too large leading to properties that are not optimal for applications. Another common problem is that functional fatigue that leads to premature failure. The PIs will use advanced computational and theoretical methods to investigate new design concepts and principles that connect crystal structure, defects, domain structure and functional properties. These design concepts and principles are aimed to guide experimental efforts and accelerate the discovery of new smart as well as structural materials with optimal properties. This is in alignment with the Materials Genome Initiative. This project will directly prepare graduate students to immediately contribute to the success of integrated computational materials science and engineering. Additionally, the training of researchers involved in materials development will afford a rapid uptake of new design concepts and methodology, resulting in increased effectiveness of materials technologists. The educational outreach of the project is designed to have a significant influence on encouraging high school students who are members of underrepresented groups to enter science and engineering disciplines.