Computational materials science is one of the most rapidly developing and exciting fields in materials science because of the revolutionary advances that have been made in computer processing speed and memory capacity. We focused on modeling the thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformations and microstructure evolution in bulk and thin films using mesoscale computer simulation techniques such as phase-field models and microscopic master equations.

Some specific examples of ongoing projects in our group include:

• Thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformations and coarsening in coherent solids;
• Evolution of domain structures in ferroelectric and ferroelastic thin films;
• Interactions between dislocation and phase microstructures;
• Physical properties of evolving microstructures.