Graduate Seminar Series
February 24, 2023
10:00 a.m. ET
7500 Wean Hall
Investigating the role of localized structural effects on emerging properties in high entropy materials
Many properties we observe in materials are a direct consequence of their composition and local structure. High entropy materials are a unique class of systems that do not have a primary composition; rather they contain a near-equimolar distribution of several elements— where no single element serves as host. Such compositional disorder is accompanied by a unique distribution of localized structural distortions that can have a profound effect on properties such as thermal conductivity, magnetic interaction, diffusion, and more. A key point of interest in these materials is the implied breadth of property tunibility, which ranges in compositionally dependent functionalities from amorphous-like thermal conductivities to exotic magnetic states. In this talk, we present and discuss ongoing work on the local characterization of several high entropy compositions exhibiting crystal structures from rocksalts and spinels, to perovskites and Kagome lattices. In particular, the use of X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) is demonstrated to aid in understanding such disorder on the local level and how it may influence functional properties.
Dr. Christina Rost, Assistant Professor of Physics, James Madison University
Dr. Rost graduated with a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University in 2016, following both a B.S. and an M.S. in Physics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her Ph.D. focused on the development and phase-characterization of a novel class of oxide systems stabilized through configurational disorder, named “Entropy Stabilized Oxides”. After graduation, Tina was Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Experiments and Simulations in Thermal Engineering (ExSITE) group, within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Virginia. There, her work focused on experimental methods to test thermal properties at extremely high temperatures and thermal transport in complex and high-entropy oxides and carbides. Currently, her all-undergraduate research group at JMU focuses efforts on complex oxide synthesis and characterization. She is an active member of the American Ceramics Society and the American Physical Society.
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September 26 2025
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October 3 2025
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"Biomimetic Routes to Grow, Shape & Assemble Polymeric Materials: Theory and Simulation" presented by Anna Balazs, University of Pittsburgh
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October 8 2025
3:00 PM ET
Faculty Insights with Christopher McComb
Please join us for CMU Engineering's virtual program, "Faculty Insights: A 20 Minute Briefing." In this series, faculty will share insights into their research, its impact, and provide perspective for the future of the field.
Virtual, link provided to registrants
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October 10 2025
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"Large machine-learned potentials for materials design with catalysis and energy applications" presented by John Kitchin, Carnegie Mellon University
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October 24 2025
12:45 PM ET
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Atomic Structure Insights for Advancing Energy Storage and Electronic Materials, presented by Megan Butala, University of Florida
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