After obtaining my Bachelor’s in Engineering in 2002 with a minor in Mathematics, at the age of 19, I received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship with which I obtained my Master’s from the University of Cambridge in 2004 and my PhD at the University of Groningen in 2005 at the age of 21, becoming the youngest PhD in The Netherlands. After a short post-doctoral period at Harvard/US and at Ecole des Mines of Paris/France, I was the youngest recipient of the European Research Council Starting/ERC Grant at the age of 24 (out of ~9,100 applicants only 300 were funded that year), which I carried out at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, between 2008-2013. In 2013 I joined the University of Arizona as an Associate Professor, and since 2017 I have been an Associate Professor and Faculty Fellow at the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of the University of Florida, where I setup the Laboratory of Nanomaterials for Energy and Biological Applications.

Education

BS, Michigan Technological Univ, 2002,MPhil, Univ of Cambridge (Pembroke College), 2004,PhD, Univ of Groningen, 2005

Professional Memberships and Fellowships

American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member

Teaching Interests

Li-ion Batteries, Energy Storage, Mechanical Design I

Research Interests

Katerina E. Aifantis focuses on using solid mechanics for understanding materials behavior at the nanoscale, such as dislocation-grain boundary and dislocation-graphene interactions. In addition to basic science questions, she uses her theoretical and experimental insight to predict the most promising materials systems that can be used in various applications, ranging from next generation electrodes for Li-ion batteries, to bone regeneration scaffolds and bioacompatible electrodes for deep brain stimulation.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. Shuang F. G , Aifantis, K.E, Dislocation-graphene interactions in Cu/graphene composites and the effect of boundary conditions: a molecular dynamics study, Carbon 172, 50-70, 2021.
2. Du Z., Feng X., Cao G., She Z., Tan R., Aifantis K.E., Zhang R., Li X. ,The effect of carbon nanotubes on osteogenic functions of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and bone formation in vivo compared with that of nano-hydroxyapatite and the possible mechanism, Bioactive Materials 6, 333-345, 2021.
3. Hu P.P, Peng W.P, Wang BG, Xiao D.P, Ahuja U.G, Réthoré R., Aifantis K.E., Concentration-Gradient Prussian Blue Cathodes for Na-Ion Batteries, ACS Energy Letters 5, 100-108, 2020.
4. Shuang F.G, Deng H.A, Shafique A. B.G, Marsh S., Treiman D., Tsakalis K., Aifantis K. E. A first study on nanoporous tungsten recording electrodes for deep brain stimulation. Materials Letters, article #126885 (4 pg), 2019.
5. Huang Y.G, Deng H.A, Fan Y., Zheng L., Che J.G, Li X., Aifantis K.E., Conductive nanostructured Si biomaterials enhance osteogeneration through electrical stimulation, Matls Sci. & Eng. C 103, article# 109748 (10 pg), 2019.
6. Hu P.P, Dorogov M., Yan X., Aifantis K.E., Transforming single crystal CuO/Cu2O nanorods into nano-polycrystalline Cu/Cu2O through lithiation, ChemElectroChem 6, 3139-3144, 2019.