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Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

UF Department of Materials Science & Engineering

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UF Department of Materials Science & Engineering

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UF Department of Materials Science & Engineering (including Nuclear Engineering)

http://mse.ufl.edu

The UF Department of Materials Science and Engineering engages in research spurring innovations across a number of fields including: computing, energy, manufacturing, medicine and transportation. These innovations are brought about by ongoing research into the study of materials and engineering. Everything Americans use is composed of materials, from computer chips to flexible concrete skyscrapers, from plastic bags to artificial hips, from optical cables to automobiles. Materials science and engineering involves making materials reliable and useful to mankind. This is accomplished through design, processing and analysis of materials having controlled compositions, microstructures and properties. The educational programs of the department deal with the scientific and engineering aspects of the structure, properties, synthesis/processing/manufacturing and application of materials. We are very involved in developing new materials that address critical issues facing society including energy, sustainability and health care. Because graduates in materials science and engineering are challenged to be general practitioners and specialists, the department provides the necessary balance between the fundamental and technical aspects of the field in all specialties. The department stands among the best materials, metallurgy and ceramics departments in the nation, with current research expenditures of over $10 million a year from external contracts and grants. With the firm belief that research is teaching, students are involved in almost every research and development project. The department currently has 39 active faculty members (and growing), with 72 Master’s Degree students, 111 Ph.D. students, over 300 undergraduates and nearly two dozen technical and support staff. Office hours: 8:30am- 4:30pm
Advising hours: 9:00am- 4:00pm

10/23/2026

Hear from Aidan Gilchrist, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis, at our next Fall Seminar Series! ⚡

The extracellular matrix operates across timescales, from polymer chains that rearrange over seconds to hours to tissues that remodel over a lifespan. While stiffness describes resistance to deformation, stress relaxation describes how that resistance decreases over time, and strain stiffening describes how that resistance increases with continued deformation. These competing polymer and tissue-scale dynamics occur simultaneously, raising the question of what stiffness a cell experiences. At any given moment, is the cell experiencing a ‘stiff ’ or a ‘soft’ environment? To address this, we developed an empirical model that separates stress relaxation and strain stiffening timescales.

📆 Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026
🕐 3 p.m.
📍 Rhines Room 125

Hosted by Renato (Sam) Navarro, Ph.D.

10/22/2026

Congratulations to MSE's Undergraduate Team on being awarded third place in the 2026 ASM Undergraduate Design Competition. 🎉

Excellent job to the team, featuring Benjamin Merkin, Zoe Lipton, Julia Lopez, Logan Hoskins and Kayleigh Wood on their project titled: “Degradable Biopolymeric Mesh for Improved Surgical Outcomes Post-ACL Tear”! 🐊

The ASM Undergraduate Design Competition is based on the submission of design-focused project that describes work performed as part of a capstone course or as team project by undergraduate engineering students at any level during their Spring Semester. The team was led by Aroba Saleem, Ph.D., UF MSE instructional associate professor.

📸: Logan Hoskins pictured at the IMAT 2026 Conference accepting the award for the team.

10/21/2026

Known as “Ms. Nuclear Energy” on TikTok, Kaylee Cunningham has racked up 2.8 million likes for her clips on engineering topics. At age 26, she is also accumulating numerous firsts: the first in her family to be known as “doctor” and the first student at UF to complete an online Ph.D. from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering this December. 🐊

“Kaylee has always been a nuclear advocate since the first time I met her as an undergraduate student at UF,” said Justin Watson, Ph.D., MSE associate professor. “Her dedication and enthusiasm represents the positive attitude that the industry needs.”

Cunningham worked as an undergraduate researcher, exploring the intersection of materials and nuclear engineering, alongside Michael Tonks, Ph.D., the department chair; and Nathalie Wall, Ph.D., the interim nuclear engineering program director.

She successfully delivered her doctoral defense this semester to a packed audience in Rhines Hall filled with friends, family and faculty members who have supported her during her time at UF. 💙

📰 Read more about Cunningham's remote Ph.D. experience by heading to this link: https://news.ufl.edu/2026/10/ms-nuclear-energy/

10/20/2026

Our next Nuclear Engineering Seminar features Andreas Enqvist, Ph.D., Florida Power & Light Associate Professor of the University of Florida Nuclear Engineering Program in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering!🐊

In this seminar we will cover a few radiation detection and instrumentation methods that can be applied to various states of nuclear materials. Examples will include: Detection technologies for finding unknown or smuggled radiation sources; Monitoring and verification of known nuclear materials as part of the nuclear fuel cycle; and supporting technology for the detection of nuclear material generation and production.

📆 Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026
🕐 1:55 p.m.
📍 Rhines Room 125

Hosted by Nathalie Wall, Ph.D.

10/16/2026

Join us for the next MSE seminar featuring Anindita Chakraborty, Ph.D., Principal Scientist and Head Technologist at Tata Steel!📢

Modern steelmaking increasingly demands simultaneous advancements in material performance and manufacturing economics. The lecture presents selected case studies with manufacturing realities illustrating how fundamental understandings of surfaces, interfaces and phase transformations can translate into products delivering value at the million-ton scale. The case studies include the examples from Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) highlighting the phenomena of selective oxidation, wettability and process windows for increasingly complex steel substrates. The correlation of sub-micron level features and final product properties will also be highlighted. The lecture will conclude with process intelligence and digital enablers for translating materials science into robust manufacturing capability at industrial scale and speed.

We look forward to seeing you there!

📆 Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026
🕐 3 p.m.
📍 Rhines Room 125

Hosted by Victoria (Tori) Miller, Ph.D.

10/13/2026

Our next Nuclear Engineering Seminar features John Auxier, Ph.D., Group Leader from Savannah River National Lab!⚡

This presentation consists of two distinct talks delivered by John Auxier, a specialist in nuclear nonproliferation. The first talk offers a personal perspective on John Auxier’s professional career, tracing key milestones, challenges, and achievements that have shaped my experiences in the nuclear field. This is designed to give students an opportunity to understand the “art-of-the-possible” with a technical degree in nuclear chemistry/nuclear engineering. The second talk provides of nuclear reprocessing at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), covering fundamental concepts, operational highlights, and the broader impact of SRNL’s work on nuclear science and policy. Together, these talks aim to inform and inspire, off erring both a personal narrative and technical insight into the evolving landscape of nuclear technology.

📆 Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026
🕐 1:55 p.m.
📍 Rhines Room 125

Hosted by Nathalie Wall, Ph.D.

10/12/2026

Hear from Tania Betancourt, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Associate Director of the Materials Science, Engineering and Commercialization doctoral program at Texas State University, at our next Fall Seminar Series tomorrow! ⚡

Conducting polymers offer opportunities to integrate therapeutic function and external control into biomedical materials. This seminar explores poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as a versatile platform for cancer therapy, controlled drug delivery, and tissue regeneration. Three complementary approaches will be presented. First, PEDOT nanoparticles serve as photothermal agents and drug carriers, combining light-induced heating with chemotherapy for localized cancer treatment. Second, incorporation of PEDOT nanoparticles into dynamic hydrogel nanocomposites enables photo thermalmodulation of the polymer network to achieve externally triggered drug release. This approach connects the responsiveness of dynamic hydrogels with the light-to-heat conversion capabilities of PEDOT, offering opportunities for on-demand therapeutic delivery. Third, PEDOT coatings introduce electrical functionality into electrospun nanofibers, creating scaffolds that combine a fibrous architecture with properties relevant to electroresponsive tissue regeneration. Across these platforms, the seminar will examine how material composition, structure, and processing influence function and biological interactions.

📆 Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026
🕐 3 p.m.
📍 Rhines Room 125

Hosted by Renato (Sam) Navarro, Ph.D.

10/09/2026

There's no place like Gator Nation! 🐊

Happy Homecoming from and ! We’re celebrating the traditions, memories and Gator pride that bring our community together. Go Gators!🧡💙

10/06/2026

Join us for the next NE seminar in our Fall 2026 series, featuring Oscar Martinez, Ph.D.!📢

Dr. Martinez is currently a Senior R&D Staff member and group leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division. He received his B.S. (2003), M.S. (2004), and Ph.D. (2007) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida. His primary research interests are in solid mechanics, structural analysis, explicit dynamic computational modeling, mechanical testing of hazardous material shipping containers, and transportation of radioactive material shipping containers.

This presentation provides a U.S. perspective on interim storage, transportation, and disposal of SNF, with emphasis on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) role in closing knowledge gaps. ORNL research includes performance testing of high-burnup fuel through mechanical and thermal evaluations, development of unique full-length rod heat-treatment capabilities, and structural testing to assess long-term integrity. Complementing these efforts, ORNL operates a comprehensive package testing program that conducts regulatory drop, crush, thermal, and puncture tests, supported by advanced modeling, simulation, and post-test analysis.

📆 Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026
🕐 1:55 p.m.
📍 Rhines Room 125

Hosted by Nathalie Wall, Ph.D.

10/02/2026

Join us Tuesday at our next seminar featuring Rebecca Smaha, Ph.D.! 📢

Rebecca Smaha is a staff scientist in the Materials Discovery & Design group at the National Laboratory of the Rockies. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and certificates in materials science and engineering and linguistics from Princeton University in 2014, where she researched solid electrolytes for sodium batteries. Her current research focuses on the design, discovery, and development of novel ternary nitrides in both bulk and thin film forms, both fundamentally and for applications including magnetism, ferroelectrics, optoelectronics, detection, and spintronics.

Discovery of novel materials is the crucial first step towards addressing technological needs such as computing with improved energy efficiency or reducing the criticality of rare earth magnet materials. Many proposed materials with exceptional calculated properties are compositionally complex and/or thermodynamically metastable, which both present synthetic challenges. Smaha will discuss her approach to these challenges for ternary and quaternary nitrides, which are promising families for applications including piezo- and ferroelectrics, permanent magnets, and detectors.

📆 Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026
🕐 3 p.m.
📍 Rhines 125

Hosted by Megan Butala, Ph.D. and Honggyu Kim, Ph.D.

Address

108 Rhines Hall P. O Box 116400
Gainesville, FL
32611

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+13528463312

Website

http://www.mse.ufl.edu/

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