Department of Applied Physical Sciences (GRAD)

The Department of Applied Physical Sciences combines applied science and engineering to solve real problems for North Carolina and the world through technology, innovation and partnerships, and the preparation of knowledgeable and responsible students, citizens, and researchers. The department expands interdisciplinary research and teaching by strengthening an intellectual climate in which science is collaborative and focused on applications.

The doctoral program in materials science is an interdisciplinary graduate program that brings together faculty members from chemistry, mathematics, physics and astronomy, and various departments across the University to engage in research and training in applications of the physical sciences. The primary areas of emphasis in the program are optical and electronic materials, nanomaterials, polymers, and biomaterials. Students pursuing Ph.D. degrees in materials science begin their studies with a core curriculum covering the fundamentals of materials, including their structures, surfaces, fabrication, thermodynamics, and materials science laboratory techniques. They continue with elective courses offered within APS or other departments as appropriate to their area of research concentration. Graduate students engage in research under the supervision of one of the participating materials science faculty in APS.

APS is also home to BeAM (Be A Maker), the UNC network of makerspaces.   

Research Interests

The four areas of research emphasized in the program are electronic, nano, polymer, and biomaterials. These four areas are not discrete, however, as research projects in solar energy, soft and biological matter, structural materials, optical engineering and neuroscience, data science and computational modeling demonstrate. Individual faculty members typically have research interests in more than one of the primary areas and collaborate with others to address several grand challenges. For detailed information on the graduate program, please email the graduate program coordinator.

Facilities and Equipment

Students and faculty members have access to state-of-the-art central facilities for materials synthesis, processing and characterization. These capabilities are located within individual research laboratories and, especially, within the Chapel Hill Analytical and Nanofabrication Laboratory (CHANL). Faculty and students also have access to the expertise, tools, and equipment in BeAM (Be A Maker), the network of UNC campus makerspaces. 

Fellowships and Assistantships

Research and teaching assistantships are available to qualified graduate students. The duties of teaching assistants can include guiding students in BeAM (Be A Maker, the UNC–Chapel Hill network of makerspaces) and teaching laboratory sections, and assisting in the supervision of advanced laboratories, teaching recitation sections, and grading papers. Summer support is generally available.  A variety of fellowships are available.

Courses

Numbered 400-999: 

• Applied Sciences (APPL)
• Material Science (MTSC)

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. degree requirements include completion of a suitable set of courses, literature review, prospectus, a first doctoral oral exam, an original research project culminating in a dissertation, and a final oral exam. The general regulations of The Graduate School govern credit hour, residency, and examination requirements.

Courses

All graduate students must pass the following courses, or must have passed their equivalents elsewhere:

Each student also takes additional courses offered by Applied Physical Sciences (APS) or participating departments, as appropriate for his or her area of study.

Literature Review

By the end of the first year, students must complete a literature review, which includes both a written document and an oral presentation. The literature review is intended to prepare students and their advisors for the student’s specific research focus, the oral defense scheduled for the end of the second year, and future scholarly publications.

Prospectus and First Doctoral Oral Exam

There are two oral exams. The first oral exam is coordinated with the student’s doctoral advisory committee (DAC). The oral exam will ascertain if the student has acquired the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in research. Two weeks prior to the exam students submit a written prospectus to their DAC. The prospectus describes a detailed research proposal.

The first oral exam includes a 45-minute presentation of the student’s research project aim in the context of the existing literature and research results to date. It is recommended that students also present their possible next steps (future work!) and elaborate on what is needed in order to be successful in their research. For example, it could be that the research would benefit from an internship at another university or industrial partner, or from collaborative research at one of the national labs. Committee members review proposals and research plans during the oral exam, ask questions, and give suggestions and feedback.

Dissertation and Final Oral Exam

The final oral exam is coordinated with the student’s DAC and is a defense of the research thesis.

Professors

Theo J. Dingemans, High-Performance Polymers and (Nano)composites
Jinsong Huang, Perovskite Solar Cells, Photodetectors, X-ray Imaging, Radiation Detectors, Electronic Devices
René Lopez (Physics and Astronomy), Optical Materials, Photonic Structures, Photovoltaics
Richard Superfine, Biological Physics, Soft Matter, Biomedical Device Technologies

Associate Professors

Ronit Freeman, Biomaterials, Supramolecular Polymers, Soft Matter, Synthetic Biology, Biosensors, Living Materials
Daphne Klotsa, Computational Soft and Active Matter
Nico Pégard, Computational Optics, Imaging Systems, Optical Instrumentation and Digital Interfaces for Systems Biology and Neuroscience

Assistant Professors

• Wubin Bai, Bioelectronics, Soft Materials, Advanced Manufacturing, Microsystems, Electronic Materials, Photonic Materials, and Biomaterials
• Youhong (Nancy) Guo, Materials Science and Engineering, Separation Processes, Renewable Energy Harvesting and Utilization, Advanced Manufacturing
  Lin Ma, Energy Storage, Rechargeable Batteries, Advanced Manufacturing, Mixed Ion-Electron Conductors Materials, Electrochemistry, and Thermal Characterizations

Teaching Professor

Richard Goldberg, Assistive Technology, Rehabilitation Engineering, Engineering Education

Teaching Assistant Professor

Alexis Gillmore, Engineering Education, Epistemology, Design, Soil Biogeochemistry

Professor of the Practice

Dedric Carter, Vice Chancellor, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development and Chief Innovation Officer, Systems Applications to Technical, Business and Policy Issues with an Emphasis on the Entrepreneurial Process, Innovation and New Venture Creation

Affiliated Faculty

James Cahoon (Chemistry), Nanoparticle Synthesis and Characterization
Praneeth Chakravarthula (Computer Science), Optics, Perception, Graphics, Optimization, Machine Learning
Orlando Coronell (Environmental Sciences and Engineering), Wet Chemistry, Polymer Synthesis, Membrane Systems
Greg Forest (Mathematics), Flow and Structure of Complex Polymeric Fluids
Boyce Griffith (Mathematics and Biomedical Engineering), Cardiovascular Modeling and Simulation
Yun Li (Genetics and Biostatistics), Statistical Methods and Computational Tools and Applications to Genetic Dissection of Complex Diseases
Jianping Lu (Physics), Nanotechnology, Carbon Nanotube X-rays, Tomosynthesis and Computed Tomography
Gerald Meyer (Chemistry), Inorganic Materials, Spectroscopy, and Electrochemistry
Cass T. Miller (Environmental Sciences and Engineering), Environmental Physics, Soft Matter, Continuum Mechanics, Applied Mathematics, Computational Science
J. Michael Ramsey (Chemistry), Analytical Chemistry, Microfabricated Chemical Instrumentation, Microfluidics, Nanofluidics
Jose Rodríguez-Romaguera (Neuroscience Center), Neuronal Circuits, Imaging, Optogenetics
Edward T. Samulski (Chemistry), Liquid Crystals and Liquid Crystal Polymers
Alexander Tropsha (Eshelman School of Pharmacy), Computational Chemistry, Cheminformatics and Structural Bioinformatics
Scott Warren (Chemistry), 2D Materials, Energy Storage, Solar Energy, Nanoelectronics, Supramolecular and Solid-State Chemistry for Materials Design
Yue Wu (Physics and Astronomy), Water and Gas Configuration at a Nanometric Level
Wei You (Chemistry), Organic and Polymer Synthesis, Organic Solar Cells, Molecular Electronics, Organic Spintronics