News from the Spearot research group:


2021

  • Undergraduate researcher Katelyn Campbell receives IMDEA Fellowships to support her research on shock in metallic materials.
  • Spearot selected for sabbatical at IMDEA Materials Institute in Madrid, Spain.

2021

  • Spearot named as the Newton C. Ebaugh Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.
  • Spearot awarded a University of Florida Term Professorship for 2021-2024.
  • Darshan Bamney successfully defesnd his Ph.D. Dissertation: Towards Physically Representative Dislocation Dynamics Models for Polycrystalline Plasticity.
  • Spearot named an Associate Editor of the Elsevier journal Mechanics of Materials. Journal Website

2020

  • Darshan Bamney is selected for an Outstanding Achievement Award from the UF International Center. Announcement
  • Spearot promoted to the rank of Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida.
  • Doruk Aksoy successfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: The Role of Grain Boundary Structure on Segregation Induced Embrittlement and Fracture in FCC Nickel.
  • Ke (Lucas) Luo sucessfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: Shockwave Propagation and High Strain Rate Loading of Hydrogels via Molecular Dynamics Simulation.
  • Spearot named Teacher of the Year in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.
  • Publication by Lucas Luo with Charity Wangari, Ghatu Subhash and Spearot selected for a "Online Cover" in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Article Cover
  • Publication by Brandon Witbeck and Spearot in the Journal of Applied Physics selected as an "Editor's Pick" and a "Scilight". Article Scilight
  • Brandon Witbeck successfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Crystal Defects in Ni/Al Nanolaminates and their Influence on Combustion.
  • Spearot wins the TMS MPMD Distinguished Service Award.

2019

  • Spearot chosen by Editors to receive Excellence in Reviewing Award from Acta and Script Materialia.
  • Spearot named 2019 Anderson Scholars Faculty Honoree. Website
  • Madison Rodriguez win University Scholars Program Award to conduct undergraduate research.

2018

  • Khanh Dang successfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: Atomistic Simulation of Dislocation Properties and the Role of Stress State in Aluminum.
  • Spearot gives invited lecture at the Colorado School of Mines.
  • Spearot delivers keynote lecture at the TMS Annual Meeting.
  • Alex Kamentz and Darren Tio win University Scholars Program Awards to conduct undergraduate research.
  • Publication by Brian Demaske with Peng Wen, Simon Phillpot and Spearot selected as an "Editor's Pick" in the Journal of Applied Physics. Article

2017

  • Spearot gives invited lecture at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Website
  • Spearot wins grant from the Army Research Office to study dislocation - grain boundary interactions.
  • Mehrdad Mirzaei Sichani successfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: Characterization of Plastic Deformation Evolution in Single Crystal and Nanocrystalline Cu During Shock by Atomistic Simulations.
  • Kanis Bootsita and Noah Yudewitz win University Scholars Program Awards to conduct undergraduate research.
  • Spearot named as Co-Chair of the Graduate Recruitment and Admissions Committee in the Department of Mechancal & Aerospace Engineering.

2016

  • Spearot selected to attend the Emerging Leaders Alliance Conference supported by TMS. Website
  • Spearot gives invited presentation at the USACM Nano Workshop at the University of Michigan. Website
  • Brandon Witbeck wins DoD SMART Fellowship.
  • Spearot and Subhash win grant from the National Science Foundation to study wave propagation and fracture in hydrogels. NSF
  • James Stewart successfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: Phase-Field Models for Simulating Physical Vapor Deposition and Microstructure Evolution of Thin Films.
  • Arturo Sucre Melfi successfully defends his Undergraduate Honors Thesis: Influence of Hydrogen Concentration and Distribution on Fracture in Nickel.
  • Paper by James Stewart with Spearot selected as an "Editor's Choice" in Computational Materials Science. Website

2015

  • Spearot delivers invited seminar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida.
  • Spearot and Georgia Tech professor Laurent Capolungo receive research grant from the Army Research Office.
  • Arturo Sucre Melfi wins Honors College Undergraduate Research Fellowship.
  • Keaton Jaramillo successfully defends his Undergraduate Honors Thesis: Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Force-Controlled Nanoindentation.
  • Jordan Key sucessfully defends his Undergraduate Honors Thesis: Phase field modeling and simulation of dendritic growth with varying latent heat and seeding distributions.
  • Zou, Nair and Spearot win grant from the National Science Foundation to study nanoscale core-shell structures. NSF
  • Spearot delivers invited seminar at Michigan State University Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.
  • Spearot delivers invited seminar at the University of Florida Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

2014

  • Shawn Coleman sucessfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: Atomistic Simulation and Virtual Diffraction Characterization of Alumina Interfaces: Evaluating Structure and Stability for Predictive Physical Vapor Deposition Models.
  • Khanh Dang sucessfully defends his MS Thesis: Phase Transformation in Monolayer Molybdenum Disulphide (MoS2) with and without Defects Under Tension Predicted by Atomsitic Simulations.
  • Spearot receives the Arkansas Alumni Association Rising Teaching Award.
  • Spearot receives the John L. Imhoff Outstanding Teaching Award in the College of Engineering. UofA
  • Shawn Coleman recognized with the MRS Student Award Silver Medal. MRS UofA
  • NCSA Access Magazine article written about Coleman and Spearot's research using XSEDE resources. PDF Online
  • Spearot delivers keynote lecture at the 2014 TMS Annual Meeting.
  • Spearot delivers keynote lecture at the 2014 International Symposium on Plasticity. Plasticity
  • Keaton Jaramillo wins SURF Award from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

2013

  • Spearot delivers invited lecture at the International symposium on Strength of Fine Grained Materials at the University of Tokyo. Tokyo
  • Spearot named "Outstanding Teacher" in the Department of Mechanical Engineering 2012-2013. UofA
  • Spearot and Shawn Coleman awarded supercomputing time on TACC Stampede and SDSC Gordon to perform research on alumina interfaces. UofA
  • Spearot receives fellowship to attend the NSF Summer Institute Workshop on The Materials Genome: Current Practice and Future Promise at Northwestern University.

2012

  • Spearot awarded the 21st Professorship in Mechanical Engineering for 2012-2015.
  • Chase Philpot sucessfully defends his Undergraduate Honors Thesis: Evaluation of Shock induced Spallation in Nanocrystalline Copper.
  • James Stewart sucessfully defends his MS Thesis: Atomistic Simulations of Defect Nucleation and Intralayer Fracture in Molybdenum Disulphide During Nanoindentation.
  • Spearot named "Outstanding Researcher" in the Department of Mechanical Engineering 2011-2012. UofA
  • Spearot named as 2012 TMS Young Leader International Scholar and presents at the spring meeting of JIM. TMS UofA
  • Shawn Coleman wins First Place in the Unviersity of Arkansas Graduate Student Poster Competition. UofA
  • Varun Ullal sucessfully defends his MS Thesis: Molecular Dynamics Study of Diffusion of O2 Penetrates in Uncrosslinked Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Crosslinked PDMS and PDMS-Based Nanocomposites.
  • Joseph Simpson wins SURF Award from the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority.

2011

  • Spearot appointed as Interim Director of the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center for 2011-2012. UofA
  • Spearot receives tenure and is promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas.
  • Lucas Brown wins SURF Award from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. UofA

2010

  • Spearot and Malshe win grant from the National Science Foundation to study the behavior of MoS2 nanoparticles. NSF
  • Alex Sudibjo sucessfully defends his MS Thesis: Molecular dynamics study of diffusion of atomspheric penetrates in polydimethylsiloxane and polydimethylsiloxane-based nanocomposites.
  • Spearot part of team that secures National Science Foundation funding to expand the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center. NSF
  • Spearot wins NSF CAREER Award to study phase formation during vapor deposition. NSF UofA
  • Spearot named "Outstanding Researcher" in the Department of Mechanical Engineering 2009-2010.
  • Spearot wins 2010 TMS Young Leader Professional Development Award. TMS

2009

  • Rahul Rajgarhia successfully defends his Ph.D. Dissertation: Microstructural stability and plastic deformation behavior of nanocrystalline copper doped with antimony.

2008

  • Nikhil Joshi sucessfully defends his MS Thesis: Study of the melting of transition metal nanoclusters and their application to the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) model.
  • Valliappa Kalyanasundaram successfully defends his MS Thesis: Fundamental understanding of nanomanufacturing process consistency and the mechanical field assisted organization of a nanoconfined molecular medium.
  • Huang and Spearot win grant from the National Science Foundation to study metal particle polymer composites. NSF

2007

  • Spearot honored with the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. ORAU, UofA
  • Spearot named "Outstanding Teacher" in the Department of Mechanical Engineering 2006-2007.