Staff, Postdoctoral Research Associates, and Students
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.
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.
Matthew S. Emerson
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Assistant Scientist
memerson@bnl.gov
Studies the structure, dynamics, and radiation-driven chemistry of complex ionic fluids to understand molten salts and room-temperature ionic liquids relevant to energy technologies, nuclear energy systems, separations, and chemical reactivity in extreme environments.
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.
Phillip Halstenberg
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Graduate Student
phalsten@vols.utk.edu
Synthesizing, purifying, and characterizing molten salts.
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.
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.
Ankita Mohanty
Stony Brook University
Grad Student
ankita.mohanty@stonybrook.edu
Studying interfaces between molten salt and other materials using synchrotron X-ray characterizations.
Hung Nguyen
Grad Student
Performing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and investigating electronic structures of dissolved species in molten salts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jagadeesh Sure
University of Wisconsin
Scientist
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.
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.
Yong Zhang
University of Notre Dame
Senior Scientist
Yong.Zhang.142@nd.edu
Performing molecular dynamics studies of molten salts using classical force fields and developing and validating new force fields for these unsual systems.
