Physicists to Use Federal Grant to Study Materials Considered Key to Energy

Photo by University Relations

Sergei Prokhorenko, University of Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Researchers at the University of Arkansas will use a $374,621 federal grant to investigate fundamental properties of materials that are considered key to advances in energy generation, storage and conversion.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which commissions advanced research for the U.S. Department of Defense, awarded the grant to an international research team led by Laurent Bellaiche, Distinguished Professor of physics at the U of A.

The researchers will focus on developing, implementing and using predictive computational methods to advance the understanding of ferroelectric and multiferroic perovskite oxides, which are materials that convert one form of energy into another, said Sergei Prokhorenko, a postdoctoral research associate at the U of A and a lead researcher on the team.

Ferroelectric materials convert changes in mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. These changes are known as a piezoelectric response and are used in a wide range of applications that include cell phones and heart implants.

“We will build on our previous works within the general area of study of properties of ferroelectric and multiferroelectric materials, and develop a set of computational strategies that will allow, in conjunction with experimental efforts of our European partners, to test our predictions and refine our analysis,” Bellaiche said.

The simulations will be performed at the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center at the U of A. The research team includes Braham Dkhil at Ecole Centrale Paris and Dawei Wang, a former postdoctoral research associate at the U of A who is now a professor at Jiatong University in China, among others.

Bellaiche holds the Twenty-First Century Endowed Professorship in Optics/Nanoscience/ Science Education in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and conducts research in the U of A’s Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering.

About the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: Fulbright College is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with 19 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students and is named for J. William Fulbright, former university president and longtime U.S. senator.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.