MSEE Staff, Postdoctoral Research Associates, and Students

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  W. Beck Andrews

  University of Michigan

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  wband@umich.edu

  Using continuum simulations to understand corrosion and microstructure evolution in metallic materials exposed to molten salts.

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  Kailee Buttice

  University of Wisconsin-Madison

  Grad Student

  buttice@wisc.edu

  Utilizing UV-Vis spectroscopy to quantify the optical basicity of molten fluoride salts with the goal of developing a basicity scale and understanding its effect on structural material degradation.

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  Matthew S. Emerson

  University of Iowa

  Graduate Student

  matthew-emerson@uiowa.edu

  Performing experimental synchrotron techniques and molecular dynamics, including polarizable force fields, DFT, and machine learning models to investigate structures and transport properties of molten salts.

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  Luke Gibson

  Oak Ridge National Lab

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  gibsonld@ornl.gov

  Using molecular dynamics simulations with ab initio and machine learning potentials to study speciation and predict key thermodynamic properties such as chemical potentials.

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  Bonita Goh

  University of Wisconsin-Madison

  Grad Student

  bgoh@wisc.edu

  Using high-throughput experiments, coupled with machine learning validation and physics-based sample characterization for exploring high-temperature corrosion phenomena.

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  Phillip Halstenberg

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  Graduate Student

  phalsten@vols.utk.edu

  Synthesizing, purifying, and characterizing molten salts.

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  Ellery Hendrix

  University of Michigan

  Grad Student

  joyhen@umich.edu

  Investigating microstructure evolution at alloy-molten salt interface using phase-field modeling

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  Kazuhiro Iwamatsu

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  iwamatsu@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-8367

  Conducting pulse radiolysis kinetics measurements of reactions in molten salts, including the yields of primary radiolytic transients and their reactions with metal ion solutes, reactions between intermediate product species and the kinetics and redox energetics of nanoparticle formation.

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  Ellie Kim

  University of Tennessee-Knoxville

  Grad Student

  mkim55@vols.utk.edu

  Focusing on purification of salts, analyzing thermophysical properties of salts in molten state, and determining material characteristics of molten salts.

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  Bobby Layne

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  Sr. Technical Specialist

  blayne@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-8367

  Designing and constructing elegant solutions to challenging molten salt sample containment problems in support of our synchrotron, electrochemical and pulse radiolysis experiments.

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  Ankita Mohanty

  Stony Brook University

  Grad Student

  ankita.mohanty@stonybrook.edu

  Studying interfaces between molten salt and other materials using synchrotron X-ray characterizations.

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  Hung Nguyen

  Grad Student

  Performing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and investigating electronic structures of dissolved species in molten salts.

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  Nirmalendu Patra

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  npatra1@bnl.gov

  Studying the local structure and chemical environments of metal halides and nanoparticles in molten salts using synchrotron XAS experiments.

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  Yuxiang Peng

  Stony Brook University

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  peng.yuxiang@stonybrook.edu

  Performing in-situ studies on interfacial and corrosion processes in molten salts using high temperature electrochemical cells coupled with synchrotron-based multi-modal X-ray techniques.

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  Alejandro Ramos-Ballesteros

  Idaho National Laboratory

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  alejandro.ramosballesteros@inl.gov

  Solid-State Radiolysis. Steady-state electron irradiation of molten salts. Optical and magnetic properties of radiation-induced species.

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  Cole Strickling

  University of Notre Dame

  Grad Student

  cstrick4@nd.edu

  Performing classical molecular dynamics simulations of molten salts to predict their structural, thermodynamic and dynamic properties.

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  Jagadeesh Sure

  University of Wisconsin

  Assistant Professor

  sure@wisc.edu

  Performed electrochemical studies to understanding the molten salt corrosion behavior of metals and alloys in different molten salts. Correlating electrochemical data with electron microscopy studies to understand the interface between metal and salt and related mechanisms.

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  Mehmet Topsakal

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  Associate Scientist

  mtopsakal@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-5162

  Developing and employing advanced data analysis, machine learning techniques and first-principles simulations of core-level spectroscopy (XAS, XES, EELS) for the interpretation of complex ex-situ, in-situ, and operando measurements.

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  Michael E. Woods

  Idaho National Laboratory

  Postdoctoral Research Associate

  michael.woods@inl.gov

  Performing spectroscopy and electrochemistry experiments to study the electronic and molecular structure of lanthanides and transition metals in molten salts.

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  Kaifeng Zheng

  Stony Brook University

  Grad Student

  Kaifeng.zhang@stonybrook.edu

  Studying the structure and coordination states of metal ions dissolved in molten salts using synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy and accompanying machine learning methods.