| Description | Predictive descriptors for the stability of new solid-state materials
Chris Bartel, Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Abstract: Throughout history, emergent technologies have been enabled by the discovery and application of new or improved materials. Materials-driven societal advancement dates back at least to the Stone Age, when early hominins made use of naturally occurring rock in the form of tools to obtain food and build shelter. A transformational change occurred with the dawn of metallurgy and the observation that naturally occurring elements, copper and tin, could be mixed (alloyed) at high temperature, to form bronze, a much harder material than pure copper. Historically, these material discoveries have been predicated on some serendipitous accident where two compounds might have been accidentally mixed, and a new material emerges with some exciting property. Today, we strive to rationally design new materials with state-of-the-art properties for some application of technological relevance. This challenge is made daunting by the
vast diversity of chemistries, compositions, and structures that can be realized in the solid state, motivating the emergence of a field termed materials informatics. Following the lead of bio- and cheminformatics,
the immense combinatorial challenge of solid-state materials design is addressed by marrying computational chemistry (predominantly density functional theory, DFT) and machine learning to rapidly identify and design new materials with emergent phenomena. About DYSS: ChemE's Distinguished Young Scholars Seminar (DYSS) series showcases the work of the best and brightest young engineers in the nation. Student-selected participants come to Seattle for an all-day mock academic interview and give a one-hour research seminar. A happy hour will follow from 5:00–6:00 pm in the Benson Hall Lobby. |
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