Author: Copeland, Royce W

The Department of Materials Science & Engineering is thrilled to welcome three new faculty members: Renato S. Navarro, Ph.D., Ravit Silverstein, Ph.D., and Yijia Gu, Ph.D. They have joined the department as assistant professors in Spring 2025. These new hires bring exceptional expertise and diverse experiences, which will enhance the department’s research and educational mission. […]

Meer Muhtasim Mahfuz, a senior majoring in materials science and engineering, has been awarded the highly competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP).  While at UF, Mahfuz conducted research in the lab of Honggyu Kim, Ph.D., where he focused on the characterization of functional materials and semiconductor thin films using advanced transmission electron […]

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR I am pleased to share news and updates from the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and the Nuclear Engineering Program. >>> Michael Tonks, Ph.D. Interim Chair,Department of Materials Science & Engineering MEGAN BUTALA EARNS NSF CAREER AWARD Megan Butala, Ph.D., is tackling a pivotal battery challenge to support a sustainable energy future.  >>> UNLOCKING […]

Dear colleagues, alums, supporters and friends,      As the academic year wraps up, our newsletter provides me with another opportunity to highlight some of the important achievements within our department. From faculty research to student successes to alumni achievements, I’m pleased to share these updates with you once again.  Megan Butala, Ph.D., received an NSF […]

When Dr. Sagid Salah (B.S. ’58, M.S. ’60, Ph.D. ’64) first arrived in Gainesville in 1954, he was 21 years old, had just survived nearly four years as a prisoner during the Korean War, and was technically stateless. He spoke English thanks to a Catholic priest and a missionary who had tutored him in the […]

Dr. Rolf Erich Hummel, a distinguished materials scientist and professor emeritus of the department, passed away on March 24, 2025, at age 90. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, he earned his doctorate in solid-state physics from the Max Planck Institute in 1963. Soon after he graduated, he was hired at the University of Florida to take […]

As the demand for clean, high-efficiency energy grows, a research team led by Justin Watson, Ph.D., and Chris McDevitt, Ph.D., associate professors of nuclear engineering at the University of Florida, is exploring gas core nuclear reactors (GCRs). This next-generation reactor design could offer a safer and more efficient way to generate atomic power by replacing […]

Developed through a collaboration between the EQuIPD Grant at the University of Florida and Duke Energy, the Powering the Community (PTC) outreach program has expanded since its inception in 2022 to bring an artificial intelligence and power distribution contest to middle school students throughout the Duke Energy service area. Spun off from the annual Powering […]

The University of Florida recently took first place at the 2025 TMS Materials Bowl, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition.  The team—Brooke Lastinger, Adriana LaVopa, Morgan Congdon, and Alexander Johnstone, coached by Jack Mayer—competed against top undergraduate teams from across the country in a Jeopardy-style quiz covering metallurgy, ceramics, […]