Lab Partnering Service Discovery

Professor of Chemistry, received his B.S. in 1997 from Pennsylvania State University, where he worked in the group of Prof. Ayusman Sen on palladium-catalyzed co- and terpolymerizations. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003 under the guidance of Prof. T. Don Tilley, primarily focused on the development of new catalytic C–H bond functionalizations. Following postdoctoral work at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) with Antonio Togni investigating catalytic asymmetric hydroamination and hydrophosphination, Aaron joined the chemistry faculty at Iowa State University in 2005. He was promoted to associate professor in 2011, and to professor in 2016.

Dr. Mark Bryden is the founding director of the Simulation, Modeling and Decision Science program at Ames Laboratory and is a professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University. Dr. Bryden’s research is focused on the federation of information from disparate sources (e.g., models, data, and other information elements) to create detailed models of engineered, human, and natural systems that enable engineering decision making for these complex systems. Dr. Bryden has published more than 180 peer-reviewed articles and co-authored the textbook Combustion Engineering. He has founded two successful startups based on his research work, and he has founded the nonprofit ETHOS, a community of 150+ researchers focused on meeting the needs for clean village energy in the developing world. He has received three patents, three R&D 100 awards, two Regional Excellence in Technology Transfer awards, and a National Excellence in Technology Transfer award. In 2013 he and his coauthors received the ASME Melville Medal. His professional experience includes three years as an engineer and 11 years as a manager at Westinghouse Electric in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition, for more than 15 years Professor Bryden has worked on energy systems for the poor in a number of developing countries. 

Dr. Iadecolais a theoretical physicist using diverse analytical and numerical tools to study a variety of topics in quantum condensed matter. A graduate of Brown University (Sc.B., 2012), he received his Ph.D. in Physics from Boston University in 2017. He then became a JQI Theoretical Postdoctoral Fellow at the NIST-University of Maryland Joint Quantum Institute until 2019, when he joined Iowa State University as an Assistant Professor. Research in his group focuses on out-of-equilibrium quantum systems and topological phases with a view towards emerging quantum technologies. On the nonequilibrium side, he studies properties of highly-excited many-body states and the surprising phenomena they harbor that challenge deeply ingrained intuition based on quantum statistical mechanics. On the topological side, he focuses on states of matter whose properties cannot be understood within the traditional paradigm of spontaneous symmetry breaking, and which could enable the robust storage and manipulation of quantum information. In addition to thinking about new phenomena, he grapples with ways to realize them in electronic and photonic systems, or using near-term quantum platforms.

CMI Researcher Thomas Lograsso began serving as CMI interim director in November 2019. He had led the CMI Focus Area 2, Developing Substitutes since 2014. Previously he led Focus Area 4, Crosscutting Research while serving as the interim director of The Ames Laboratory. Also at Ames Lab, Tom leads a BES Synthesis & Processing effort on Novel Materials Preparation and Processing Methodology, whose goal is to develop synthesis protocols for new materials including quasicrystals, ferromagnetic shape memory alloys, and those that may contain volatile reactive or toxic components especially in single crystalline form. Often his pioneering synthesis efforts result in the first single crystals of these novel materials to be grown and studied for intrinsic behavior. 

Tom is co-inventor of a rare-earth free substitute for the magnetostrictive alloy Terfenol-D (contains the critical elements Tb and Dy) used in high precision machining operations for small engine components and as a ultrasonic driver in petroleum exploration. This iron-based substitute is currently being evaluated for commercialization in energy harvesting applications.

Dr. Lograsso received his education in metallurgical engineering at Michigan Technological University, earning his Ph.D. in 1986. He did postdoctoral training working on the Rensselaer team, developing the Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment (IDGE) that flew on the Space Shuttle in the late 1990s. The IDGE tested the fundamental solidification physics of the pattern formation and kinetics of crystal growth in isothermal undercooled melts in growth regimes where gravity driven convection overwhelmed the growth in terrestrial conditions.

Matthew Kramer has been Division Director for Materials Sciences and Engineering (DMSE) since 2014. He is also an adjunct professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University. As DMSE director, Kramer oversees budgets, proposal preparation, Materials Preparation Center administration, and Sensitive Instrument Facility oversight. DMSE includes 13 FWPs (BES funded), EFRC CATS, approximately 13 additional DOE funded projects, and a small number of Strategic Partnership Projects. Kramer joined Ames Laboratory in 1988, specializing in the areas Structure and properties of glass forming metallic alloys, aperiodic intermetallic alloys, permanent magnets and high temperature alloys, development of in situ time resolved methods using electron microscopy and high energy X-ray diffraction, analytical electron microscopy, and advanced imaging techniques for understanding rapid solidification. He holds B.S. and M.S degrees in geo mechanics and geology from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in geology from Iowa State University.

Dr. Yao is a theoretical and computational physicist, developing methods, algorithms, and codes to address condensed matter physics and materials science problems. With a degree of B.S. in department of intensive instruction in 2000 and M.S. in physics in 2003 from Nanjing University, China, he obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Iowa State University in 2009. After graduation, he took a postdoc position in Ames Laboratory. He was promoted to assistant scientist in 2011, associate scientist in 2015, and senior theoretical physicist in 2019, with an adjunct faculty position in department of Physics and Astronomy at Iowa State University. He is currently leading projects in the development of quantum computing approaches to solve ground state and dynamical properties of correlated quantum materials within the Gutzwiller quantum-classical embedding framework. He is also a key developer of the Gutzwiller density functional theory and rotationally-invariant Slave-Boson method and software.

James Morris became Ames Laboratory’s Chief Research Officer in June 2019. As Chief Research Officer (CRO), Morris is responsible for initiating, developing and supervising the Ames Laboratory’s scientific divisions, institutes and programs. The CRO formulates and evaluates new initiatives in support of Ames Laboratory’s mission –to create materials, inspire minds to solve problems, and address global challenges –often emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaborations with other DOE National Laboratories, academia, and industry. Morris’ research has focused on a variety of materials science challenges, including alloy design, high entropy alloys, metallic liquids and glasses, and hydrogen storage and other confined fluids in porous media. He earned his B.S. in physics at Colorado State University in 1987, and his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University in 1992. He worked at Ames Laboratory, a Department of Energy (DOE) Laboratory located on the Iowa State University, first as a postdoctoral associate then as a scientific staff member. In 2003, he joined the Alloy Behavior and Design group at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), and in 2005 also became joint faculty with the University of Tennessee’s Materials Science and Engineering department. At ORNL, Morris served as Deputy Director for the DOE Energy Frontier Research Center for Defect Physics, as Lab Coordinator for the Basic Energy Sciences -Materials Science and Engineering program, and as Materials Theory Group Leader.

Dr. Viktor P. Balema is a Senior Scientist at Ames Laboratory. He joint the laboratory in 2016 to lead new materials development and commercialization at Ames’ led DOE consortium (CaloriCool) founded by US Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office. His technical expertise comprises development of biologically active compounds, hard and hybrid materials, polymers and chemical recycling. 

Before joining Ames Laboratory, Viktor served in various leading roles, including Hard Materials Head and Global R&D Manager, at Sigma-Aldrich Corporation - a major materials supplier to research and commercial markets. Once at Ames Laboratory, Dr. Balema served on the laboratory’s Research Management Team and Technical Advisory Committee of REMADE Institute and contributed to the development of the Strategic Plan for Ames Laboratory.

Scientific expertise of Dr. Balema spans over chemistry of bio-active agents, synthetic materials chemistry as well as upcycling of spent products, including rare earths and polymers. Viktor published over 70 papers, reviews and proceedings in open literature and filed ~15 US and international patents and IP disclosures. He also developed and commercialized numerous proprietary materials that have been offered through diverse business channels.