(865) 974-4858 mzaeem@utk.edu

People

Prof. Mohsen Asle Zaeem

Department Head & Cook Eversole Endowed Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Email: zaeem@utk.edu                 Phone: (865) 974-4858              Office: 414 Ferris Hall,1508 Middle Drive, Knoxville, TN

Bio

Prof. Mohsen Asle Zaeem is the Department Head and Cook Eversole Endowed Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). He began his academic career as the Roberta and G. Robert Couch Assistant Professor, and later Associate Professor, of Materials Science and Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). In 2018, he joined the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, where he also held the Fryrear Endowed Chair for Innovation and Excellence. While at CSM, he served as Director of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Professional Development Program, and was a member of the university’s Research Advisory Board. From 2022 to 2024, Prof. Asle Zaeem served at the National Science Foundation as a Program Director for the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) program. He earned his BS (2003) and MS (2006) in Mechanical Engineering from Shiraz University, and his PhD (2010) in Mechanical Engineering from the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University.  

Prof. Asle Zaeem’s research lies at the intersection of materials science, solid mechanics, and computational physics. His group develops multiscale computational models and large-scale simulation frameworks to study process–microstructure–property relationships in structural and functional materials.His recent work emphasizes the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with physics-based computational models to accelerate the prediction and understanding of these relationships, with the goal of enabling rapid design and discovery of advanced materials with improved performance. He has published more than 135 peer-reviewed journal articles, and his research has received over 7,500 citations. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a 2024 Brimacombe Medalist, and the recipient of multiple research excellence awards, including those from Colorado School of Mines (2021) and Missouri S&T (2016).
Education
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Washington State University (2010)
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University (2006)
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University (2003)

Dr. Siby Thomas

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ph.D. in Physics, National Institute of Technology Karnataka (2017)

Research Topic: Study nanoscale defect formation mechanisms and their effects on properties of functional materials. 

Email: sibythomas@mines.edu
Phone: (303) 384-2167
Office: CoorsTek 205

Dr. Sepideh Kavousi

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana State University (2019)

Research Topic: Prediction of nano/ micro-structures and properties of rapidly solidified and additively manufactured materials.

Email: kavousi@mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

Dr. Cheikh Cisse

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology (2017)

Research Topic: Phase-field finite element modeling of microstructure-controlled shape memory behaviour.

Email: cheikhcisse@mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

Ph.D. Students

Alireza Toghraee

Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Multiphase field modeling of microstructural evolution. 

Email: atoghraee@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

Ghavam Azizi

Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Multiscale modeling of solidification microstructures of steels.

Email: gazizi@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

 

Hamed Nobarani

Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Atomistic simulations of shape memory functional materials.

Email: hnobarani@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

William Huber

Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Phase-field modeling of crack propagation and failure in multiphase alloys.

Email: whuber@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

Amirreza Lotfolahpour

Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Phase-field modeling of fatigue in ductile  materials.

Email: lotfolahpour@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

 

Undergraduate Researchers

Claire Casey

Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Molecular dynamics of solidification. 

Email: clairelcasey@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364 

 

Kyle Sprecker

Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Density functional theory calculations of properties of 2D materials.

Email: ksprecker@mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

 

 

Zachary Adams

Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Phase-field modeling of solidification. 

Email: zadams@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364 

 

Soledad Farber

Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Density functional theory calculations of properties of alloys.

Email: sfarber@mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364

Lauren Longworth

Undergraduate Student in Mechanical Engineering

Research Topic: Molecular dynamics simulations of solid-liquid interfaces. 

Email: llongworth@mymail.mines.edu
Phone: (303) 273-3168
Office: Alderson Hall 364 

 

Alumni

Dr. Ning Zhang

Research Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Researcher in CMML from September 2016 to August 2019

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida (2013)

Research Topic: Study nanoscale deformation and defect formation mechanisms in functional materials. 

Current Position: Assistant Professor in Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics at University of Alabama. 

Dr. Avik Mahata

Ph.D. Student in CMML from January 2016 to May 2019

Dissertaion Title: Nanoscale Solidification of Metals by Atomistic Simulations: From Nucleation to Nanostructural Evolution.

Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Brown University.

 

Dr. Arzoo Emdadi

Ph.D. Student in CMML from August 2015 to May 2018

Dissertation Title: Quantitative phase-field modeling of crack propagation in multi-phase materials.

Current Position: Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at Missouri S&T.

Dr. Yu Hong

Research Associate in CMML from September 2016 to August 2019

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida (2014)

Research Topic: Electronic structure calculations for determining phase stability and physical properties of advanced materials.

Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate at Mines.

Dr. Mohsen  Beyramali Kivy

Ph.D. Student in CMML from August 2013 to July 2017

Dissertation Title: Experimental and computational investigation of multi-principal element alloys.

Current Position: Assistant Professor in Materials Engineering at California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly).

Dr. Jacob Bair

Ph.D. Student in CMML from January 2013 to July 2016

Dissertation Title: Multiphase field modeling of the formation path of delta hydrides in zirconium.

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Mehrdad Sichani

Postdoctoral Research Associate in CMML from August 2017 to August 2018

Research Topic: Atomistic simulations of oxidation and stress corrosion cracking.

Current Position: Assistant Professor at Middle East Technical University (Turkey).

Dr. Fan Xie

Postdoctoral Research Associate in CMML from August 2016 to July 2017

Research Topic: Predicting mechanical and physical properties of oxides by multiscale modeling.

 

Dr. Ebrahim Asadi

Postdoctoral Research Associate in CMML from
Dec. 2012 to August 2015

Research Topic: Molecular dynamics and phase field crystal modeling of solid-liquid interfaces.

Current Position: Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Memphis.

 

Mr. Mahdi Mohammadi

M.S. Student in CMML
from August 2014 to July 2016

Thesis Topic: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of molten steel flow patterns and particle-wall adhesion in continuous casting of steels.

Current Position: Ph.D. student in University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Mr. Nihal Acharya

M.S. Student in CMML from Jan. 2014 to Jan. 2016

Thesis Topic: Phase field modeling of microstructure formation in lithium batteries.

 

Ms. Leiren Jarvis

M.S. Student in CMML from Aug. 2017 to May 2020

Research Topic: Prediction of crack propagation in ZrB2-carbon based composite ceramics using the extended finite element method.

 

Undergraduate Researchers

Ms. Layla Moriarty

Ms. Claire Thomas

Mr. Erik Allder

Mr. Garrett Broussard (MST)

Ms. Mikaela Weiseman (MST)

Mr. Michael Martin (MST)

Mr. Bradley Davis (MSU)

Mr. Robert Gambrell

Mr. Sean Moncur

Ms. Rachel McCormick

Mr. Nicolas Emery

Mr. Henry Waggoner (MST)

Mr. Christopher Bates (MST)

Mr. Arsalan Adil (MSU)

Ms. Rebecca Michalczyk

Mr. Austin Gates

Mr. Ryan Wagner

Mr. Garrett Broussard

Ms. Megan Lenox (MST)

Ms. Madison Reed (MST)

Mr. Ryan Fidel

Ms. McKenzie Davis

Ms. Lindsey Jin

Ms. Hannah Butler (MST)

Ms. MaryAnn Allen (MST)

Ms. Lindsay Golem (MST)