About Our Team
Group Leader
James M. Rondinelli
Professor
Northwestern University
2220 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208-3108, USA
Coordinates
3037 Cook Hall
Contact
Tel: (847) 491-3198
Fax: (847) 491-7820
Email: jrondinelli@northwestern.edu
Skype: james.rondinelli
Professional Preparation (CV)
Joseph Katz Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow, Argonne National Lab. (06/2010–08/2011)
PhD in Materials, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
BS in Materials Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Appointments
Professor, Northwestern University, Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering (09/2020 – present)
Associate Professor, Northwestern University, Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering (09/2017 – present)
Morris E. Fine Junior Professor of Materials and Manufacturing, Northwestern University (09/2016 – present)
Fellow, Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering (03/2015 – present)
Assistant Professor, Northwestern University, Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering (09/2014 – 08/2017)
Assistant Professor, Drexel University, Materials Science & Engineering Dept. (09/2011 – 08/2014)
Honors and Awards
Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, National Academy of Sciences (2018)
MRS Outstanding Young Investigator Award (2017)
Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Physics (2016)
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE, 2016)
3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (NTFA, 2016)
Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Emerging Investigator in Materials Chemistry (2016)
NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award (2015)
ACS Select Virtual Issue on Solid-State Chemistry, Emerging Leader (2014)
American Ceramic Society Ross Coffin Purdy Award (2014)
Outstanding Research Award, Materials Science & Eng. Department, Drexel University (2012)
ACS Petroleum Research Fund, Doctoral New Investigator Grant (2012)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award (2012)
Army Research Office, Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award (2012)
Joseph Katz Named Fellowship, Argonne National Laboratory (2010)
Materials Research Society (MRS) Graduate Student Gold Award (2010)
NSF – ICMR International Research Fellow (2008)
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellow (2007)
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow (2007)
Professional and Service Activities
Member-at-Large, Division of Materials Physics (DMP), Executive Committee, American Physical Society (2018-2021)
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (2017 – present)
Member, Argonne Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) (2016 – 2019)
Editorial Board Member, NPJ Computational Materials (2015 – present)
Member, MRS Academic Affairs Committee and University Chapters Subcommittee (2015 – present)
Faculty Adviser, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society at Northwestern University (2015 – present)
Meetings, Workshops, and Sessions Organized
ACerS Electronic Materials and Applications (EMA) Symposium S4: Complex Oxide Thin Film Materials Discovery (Orlando, FL, 2019)
ACerS Electronic Materials and Applications (EMA) Symposium S8: Multifunctional Nanocomposites (Orlando, FL, 2018)
ISIF-17 Session C: Science and technology of multiferroics and magnetoelectrics (New Delhi, India, 2017)
International Workshop on Oxide Electronics (iWOE-24) (Chicago, IL, 2017)
APS March Meeting Focus Topic: Magnetic Oxide Thin Films and Heterostructures (New Orleans, LA, 2017)
ACerS Electronic Materials and Applications (EMA) Symposium S14: Multifunctional Nanocomposites (Orlando, FL, 2017)
APS March Meeting Focus Topic: Complex Oxide Interfaces & Heterostructures (Baltimore, MD, 2016)
ACerS Electronic Materials and Applications (EMA) Symposium S5: Multifunctional Nanocomposites and Symposium S6: Computational Design of Electronic Materials (Orlando, FL, 2016)
Fall MRS Symposium DDD: Lighting the Path Towards Non-Equilibrium Structure-Property Relationships in Complex Materials (Boston, MA, 2015)
Materials Science and Engineering 32nd Annual Hilliard Symposium (Evanston, IL, 2015)
APS March Meeting Focus Topic: Computational Discovery and Design of Novel Materials (San Antonio, TX, 2015)
APS March Meeting Focus Topic: Emergent Properties of Bulk Complex Oxides (San Antonio, TX, 2015)
APS March Meeting Focus Topic: Complex Oxide Interfaces & Heterostructures (Baltimore, MD, 2013)
Fall MRS Symposium AA: Oxide Nanoelectronics and Multifunctional Dielectrics (Boston, MA, 2012)
Workshop on Oxide Interfaces by Design (Newport, RI, 2012)
APS March Meeting Focus Topic: Dielectric, Ferroelectric & Piezoelectric Oxides (Dallas, TX, 2011)
Graduate Students
Jie Song
BS (Physics), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, ChinaResearch Interests
Find appropriate materials for certain physical properties
Joined Group
October, 2022
Hometown: Yantai, China
Hobbies: Riding
Favorite Linux command: rm -Rf
Favorite Structure: Pyrochlore
Megan Burrill
B.S. (Material Science and Engineering), Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL M.E. (Material Science and Engineering), Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, ILResearch Interests
Modeling of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to understand reactions and hydrogen dynamics.
Joined Group
November, 2022
Hometown: Truckee, CA
Hobbies: Swimming, cooking, climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities
Favorite Linux command: cd
Favorite Structure: Beryl
Margaret Quinn
B.S. (Physics), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD B.A. (Mathematics), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MDResearch Interests
Theory of solid-state systems, including the electronic properties, magnetism, correlations, and phase transitions using first-principles methods based on density-functional theory.
Joined Group
May, 2023
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Favorite Linux command: screen
Favorite Element: Mercury
Dawson Smith
B.S. (Materials Science and Engineering), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN B.S. (Chemistry), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN M.S. (Materials Science and Engineering), Purdue University, West Lafayette, INResearch Interests
Theory and modelling of phase transitions and reactions in functional ceramics.
Joined Group
November, 2023
Hometown: Truckee, CA
Hobbies: Writing short songs, cooking, skiing, and games!
Favorite Linux command: shred
Favorite mineral: Cinnabar
Favorite coordination: Tetrahedral
Griheydi Garcia Bonilla
B.S. (Chemistry), Manhattan College, NY, NYResearch Interests
Materials Discovery using First Principles Simulations
Joined Group
November, 2024
Hometown: NYC
Hobbies: Music and gaming
Favorite Linux command: cat
Favorite mineral: Morganite
Graham Pritchard
MS (Civil Engineering), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC BS (Civil Engineering), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NCResearch Interests
Materials origin of quantum decoherence in superconducting qubits.
Joined Group
June, 2022
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Hobbies: Piano, drums, French
Favorite Linux command: grep
Favorite space group: P63/mmc (no. 194)
Abhinav Roy
B.Tech (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering), National Institute of Technology Rourkela, IndiaResearch Interests
Studying the passivation of alloys undergoing aqueous corrosion using multi-scale simulation techniques
Joined Group
November, 2022
Hometown: Kolkata, India
Hobbies: Writing blogs, playing table tennis, cooking.
Favorite Linux command: nohup
Favorite Element: Iron
Favorite Space Group: I4/mmm (no. 139)
Michele Campbell
B.S. (Materials Science and Engineering), University of California Merced, Merced, CA B.S. (Computer Science and Engineering), University of California Merced, Merced, CAResearch Interests
Materials discovery via first principles assisted machine learning
Joined Group
November, 2023
Hometown: Foresthill, CA
Hobbies: Cooking, roller coasters, nail art
Favorite Linux command: sudo
Favorite space group: Pm-3m
Jaewon Lee
B.S. (Materials Science and Engineering), ,Research Interests
Discovering novel Quantum computing material /Molecular color center using first principle methods
Joined Group
November, 2024
Hometown: Cheongju, South Korea
Hobbies: Console games, writing novel
Favorite Linux command: cls (window), clear (Linux)
Favorite elements: Y, O, U!
William Rogers
B.S. (Electrical and Computer Engineering), University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX M.S. (Electrical and Computer Engineering), University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TXResearch Interests
Developing solid-state topological or magnetic nanoelectronic devices and studying requisite materials.
Joined Group
November, 2024
Hometown: Katy, TX
Hobbies: Jazz trumpet, 3D printing and CAD design, backpacking, absurdly long walks
Favorite Linux command: lolcat
Favorite Space Group: Fm\\bar{3}m
Favorite element: Europium
Favorite correlated system: Asperomagnet
Siddhartha Nathan
BTech (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, IndiaResearch Interests
Designing and advancing new heteroanionic materials through first principles calculations
Joined Group
October, 2021
Hometown: Chennai, India
Hobbies: Cooking, playing basketball and tennis, playing the guitar
Favorite Linux command: sar
Favorite structure: Perovskite
Hengrui Zhang
BS (Materials Science and Engineering), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ChinaResearch Interests
Data-centric materials design, physics-based machine learning for materials modeling
Joined Group
February, 2022
Hometown: Shandong, China
Hobbies: badminton, swimming, traveling
Favorite Linux command: screen
Favorite Element: Iron
Favorite Structure: Quartz
Makayla Baxter
B.S. (Chemistry), Purdue University, West Lafayette, INResearch Interests
Synthesizing and studying the electronic structure of new solid state inorganic materials.
Joined Group
April, 2023
Hometown: Bloomington, IN
Hobbies: Gaming, sewing, and singing
Favorite Element: Thorium
Larry Chen
B.S. (Materials Science and Engineering), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA M.S. (Materials Science and Engineering), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PAResearch Interests
Modeling and simulation methods.
Joined Group
November, 2023
Hometown: Fort Collins, CO
Hobbies: Hiking, 3D game development, cooking
Favorite Linux command: ls
Favorite mineral: Zircon
Research Fellows
Danilo Puggioni
PhD (Physics), Università di Cagliari, ItalyResearch Interests
Theoretical description of solid-state systems, including the electronic properties, magnetism, correlations, and phase transitions in complexoxides. The main techniques that I use are first-principles methods based on density-functional theory, and on post-DFT treatments for correlated systems.
Joined Group
June, 2012
Hometown: Chiaramonti (SS), Italy
Favorite Linux command: grep
Favorite emacs command: ctrl+x r-k
Favorite element: Copper
Favorite structure: Perovskite
Favorite space group: 
Steven M. Baksa
PhD (Materials Science and Engineering), Graduate Minor (Computational Materials), The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PAResearch Interests
Computational materials in energy applications focusing on magnetic ordering, ferroelectric reversal, stress-induced chemical reactions, and phase stability.
Joined Group
September, 2024
Hometown: Hazleton, PA
Hobbies: Swimming, bicycling, hiking, streaming Hulu/YouTube, playing video games, organizing
Favorite Linux command: grep
Favorite vim command: ctrl+L
Favorite element: Oxygen
Favorite structure: Wurtzite
Favorite space group: 
Favorite musical: The Book of Mormon
Michael Waters
PhD (Materials Science and Engineering), University of Michigan, MIResearch Interests
Computational Methods, Atomistic Kinetics, Excited states and Optical Properties, Scoville-productivity relationships in correlated graduate student systems
Joined Group
June, 2018
Hometown: Midwestern Nomad
Hobbies: 3D printing for data visualization, gardening
Favorite Linux command: grep
Favorite vim command: :tabn
Favorite lattice: FCC
Favorite musical: Hamilton
Victor Chang Lee
PhD (Material Science), Imperial College LondonResearch Interests
Computational methods, optical and magnetic properties, condense matter and molecular systems
Joined Group
December, 2024
Hometown: Madrid, Spain
Hobbies: Food, cooking, fitness and sports
Favorite Linux command: watch
Favorite space group: Fm3m (225)
Linding Yuan
PhD (Physics), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaResearch Interests
Unraveling the intricate quantum phenomena that emerge in various condensed matter systems; Understanding of the fundamental physics that dictate the behavior of materials at the nanoscale
Joined Group
May, 2023
Hometown: JiangXi, China
Hobbies: Sleep, Video games
Favorite Linux command: rm
Favorite vim command: Esc
Favorite Structure: Diamond
Favorite musical: Hamilton
Masters Students
Jacob Lafferty
B.A. (Mathematics), Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT B.A. (Physics), Wesleyan University, Middletown, CTResearch Interests
Anything and everything! Looking to explore Materials Science!
Joined Group
November, 2023
Hometown: Wilmington, DE
Favorite Linux command: chmod
Favorite crystal structure: Face Centered Cubic
Hobbies: Swimming, Triathlons, Pokémon Go, Poker, Board Games, and Philly Sports!
Visitors
Institution at Time of VisitMs. Astrid Marthinsen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Inorganic Materials and Ceramics Group
Mr. Shiming Lei, PennState, Gopalan Group
Dr. Alessandro Stroppa, CNR-SPIN, L’Aquila, Italy, MODEM Group
Alumni
Post-doctoral Fellows
Dr. John Cavin, (2021 – 2023), Post-doc, Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Xuezeng Lu, (2019 – 2022), Professor, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Dr. Alexandru (Alex) Georgescu, (2020-2023), Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Indiana University – Bloomington
Dr. Mingqiang (Kurt) Gu, (2014-2021), Research Associate Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology
Dr. Liang-Feng Huang, (2014-18), Research Scientist, Materials Science and Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering
Dr. Prasanna Balachandran, (2012-14), Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia
Dr. Antonio Cammarata, (2011-13), Assistant Professor, Applied Physics, Czech Technical University in Prague
Graduates
Mr. Jacob Lafferty, MS (2024), Compass Lexecon
Dr. Kyle Miller, PhD (2024), Research Scientist, Citrine Informatics
Dr. Kathleen Mullin, PhD (2024)
Dr. Nathan Koocher, PhD (2023)
Dr. Lauren Walters, PhD (2022), University of California, Berkeley
Mr. Sean Koyama, MS (2022), Argonne National Laboratory
Mr. Richard Saballos, MS (2021)
Dr. Yongjin Shin, PhD (2021), University of Chicago
Dr. Daniel Hickox-Young, PhD (2021), Roanoke College
Dr. Yiqun (Raymond) Wang, PhD (2021), ByteDance AI Lab
Dr. Jaye K. Harada, PhD (2021)
Dr. Xuezeng Lu, (2019), Professor, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Dr. Nicholas Wagner, PhD (2019), Institute for Defence Analyses
Dr. Nenian Charles, PhD (2017), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Joshua Young, PhD (2016), New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mr. Emrys Tennessen, MS (2016)
Mr. Adam Cordi, MS (2014), Sage Analytical Lab, LLC
Dr. Nina Lane, PhD (2013), Intel
Undergraduate Researchers
Mr. Hengrui Zhang, Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2019
Ms. Emily Wang, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2021-
Mr. Alex Tai, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2019-
Mr. Peiwen Ren, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2018-2021
Ms. Joy Hendrix, Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, REU 2021
Mr. Nathan Szymanski, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toledo, REU 2018
Mr. Kyujin Jang, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2016-17
Mr. Parth Lalkiya, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2015-16
Mr. Sam Kulsa, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 2014
Mr. Paul Cheung, Mechanical Engineering, Drexel University, 2013
Ms. Nesya Havela, Mechanical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2011-12
Senior Design Projects
Mr. Yinong Cao, Theoretical Study of ZnxSn1-xS Quantum Dots, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University
Mr. David Trider, Seebeck Coefficients and Thermopower from First-Principles, Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University