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 CAREER Award to advance research on disordered rocksalt oxides (DRXs), a promising alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries. Her work focuses on improving energy storage by studying how atomic arrangements in DRXs affect performance, with the goal of creating lower-cost, longer-lasting, and more sustainable batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy systems.
Richard Hennig, Ph.D., and his team have developed BETE-NET, an AI-driven model that dramatically speeds up the discovery of high-temperature superconductors. By integrating machine learning with physical principles, the model identified 82 new candidates with high precision and lower computational costs. This breakthrough, published in Nature, showcases AI’s growing role in advancing materials science.
UF nuclear engineering faculty Justin Watson, Ph.D., and Chris McDevitt, Ph.D., are exploring gas core reactors (GCRs) — a next-generation design that replaces solid fuel with gaseous uranium. GCRs offer higher efficiency, reduced waste, and enhanced safety, with potential applications in power generation, industry, and space propulsion. Their work could mark a major shift in the future of nuclear energy.
Under the leadership of Nancy Ruzycki, Ph.D., the Powering the Community program — a collaboration between UF’s EQuIPD Grant and Duke Energy — has expanded to include a middle school AI design contest and the Energy Explorers summer camp. These initiatives, alongside the high school contest, provide students with hands-on STEM experiences, fostering real-world problem-solving and community engagement.
In career milestones, Tori Miller, Ph.D., has been named the Vladimir A. Grodsky Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Established to support a faculty member specializing in metals, the Grodsky Professorship recognizes sustained excellence in research, teaching and service within the field of materials science and engineering.
In student news, UF’s Materials Science & Engineering team took first place at the 2025 TMS Materials Bowl in Las Vegas. Competing against top programs nationwide, the team excelled in a fast-paced quiz on materials science topics, showcasing the department’s academic strength and earning national recognition at one of the field’s premier professional gatherings.
We also have a couple of alumni updates this spring.
Lindsay DeWeese, Ph.D., a triple-Gator, associate professor and medical physicist at Oregon Health & Science University, was named one of UF’s 2025 40 Gators Under 40. A leader in education, clinical practice, and gender equity in medical physics, she continues to make an impact nationally while staying deeply connected to the Gator community.
And Sagid Salah, Ph.D., (B.S. ’58, M.S. ’60, Ph.D. ’64) survived nearly four years as a POW during the Korean War before arriving in Gainesville as a stateless refugee. His journey from hardship to earning three UF degrees and a distinguished career in nuclear engineering reflects extraordinary resilience, gratitude, and a lifelong passion for learning.
We encourage you to stay connected with us through our social media platforms, as your engagement plays a vital role in our continued success. Looking ahead, we are excited to build upon the momentum of this year’s achievements and continue molding the future of our fields and our department.
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Michael Tonks, Ph.D.
Interim Chair
Department of Materials Science & Engineering