Stefano Curtarolo

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

RESEARCH FIELDS

• Nanoscale Science of Energy
• Computational materials science
• Nanotube growth characterization
• Alloy theory
• Superlubricity on quasicrystals
• Superconductivity in Metal borides
• Genetic Approaches to QM Predictions of Materials Structures
• Materials for Nuclear Detection

The research is multidisciplinary and makes use of state of the art techniques from fields like materials science, chemistry, physics, quantum mechanics, mathematics and computer science.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Professor in the Department of Physics
• Professor in the Department of Chemistry
• Faculty Network Member of The Energy Initiative

Contact Information

• Office Location: 301 Hudson Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 660-5506
• Email Address:
• Websites:
  • http://materials.duke.edu

Education

• Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003
• M.S. Pennsylvania State University, 1999
• M.S. University of Padua (Italy), 1995

Research Interests

Nanoscale science of energy, computational materials science, nanotube growth characterization, alloy theory, superlubricity on quasicrystals, superconductivity in metal borides, genetic approaches to QM predictions of materials structures, materials for nuclear detection. His multidisciplinary research that makes use of state-of-the-art techniques from fields like materials science, chemistry, physics, quantum mechanics, mathematics and computer science.

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Distinguished Visiting Professorship. Max-Plank Society, Fritz-Haber Instittue, Berlin. 2018
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award. Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation. 2016
• DOD-MURI Award, The Science of Entropy Stabilized Ultra-High Temperature Materials. Duke University, NCSU, UCSD, UVA. 2015
• DOD-MURI Award, Topological decompositions and spectral sampling algorithms for elements substitution in critical technologies. Duke University, UMD, UNT, CMU, BYU. 2013
• Fellow. American Physical Society. 2013
• Stansell Distinguished Research Award. Duke University. 2013
• Best Paper Award. CALPHAD (Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry). 2008
• MRS Silver Medal Graduate Student Award. Materials Research Society. 2008
• NSF Early CAREER Award. National Science Foundation. 2008
• ONR Young Investigator Program Award. Office of Naval Research. 2008
• Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2007
• Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. President of the United States of America. 2007

Courses Taught

• ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering

In the News

• Disordered Materials Could Be Hardest, Most Heat-Tolerant Ever (Nov 26, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• D.I.Y. Crystal-Makers Get Refurbished Online Cookbook (Jun 2, 2017 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Can artificial intelligence create the next wonder material? (May 5, 2016 | Nature)
• Engineering Researchers Reveal New Class of Stable Oxides Based on Five or More Elements (Oct 1, 2015)
• Researchers Aim to Develop New Techniques for Creating High-Temperature Alloys (Aug 25, 2015)
• A Made-to-Order Materials Menu (Nov 17, 2014 | Duke Research Blog)
• Duke Engineers Use Brute Force Computing to Find New Materials (Jan 5, 2014)
• How supercomputers will yield a golden age of materials science (Nov 22, 2013 | Scientific American)
• Pratt Engineers Awarded Four Department of Defense Grants (Jun 18, 2013)

Representative Publications

• Avery, P; Toher, C; Curtarolo, S; Zurek, E, XTALOPT Version r12: An open-source evolutionary algorithm for crystal structure prediction, Computer Physics Communications, vol 237 (2019), pp. 274-275 [10.1016/j.cpc.2018.11.016] [abs].
• Harrington, TJ; Gild, J; Sarker, P; Toher, C; Rost, CM; Dippo, OF; McElfresh, C; Kaufmann, K; Marin, E; Borowski, L; Hopkins, PE; Luo, J; Curtarolo, S; Brenner, DW; Vecchio, KS, Phase stability and mechanical properties of novel high entropy transition metal carbides, Acta Materialia, vol 166 (2019), pp. 271-280 [10.1016/j.actamat.2018.12.054] [abs].
• Alberi, K; Nardelli, MB; Zakutayev, A; Mitas, L; Curtarolo, S; Jain, A; Fornari, M; Marzari, N; Takeuchi, I; Green, ML; Kanatzidis, M; Toney, MF; Butenko, S; Meredig, B; Lany, S; Kattner, U; Davydov, A; Toberer, ES; Stevanovic, V; Walsh, A; Park, NG; Aspuru-Guzik, A; Tabor, DP; Nelson, J; Murphy, J; Setlur, A; Gregoire, J; Li, H; Xiao, R; Ludwig, A; Martin, LW; Rappe, AM; Wei, SH; Perkins, J, The 2019 materials by design roadmap, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, vol 52 no. 1 (2019) [10.1088/1361-6463/aad926] [abs].
• Stanev, V; Oses, C; Kusne, AG; Rodriguez, E; Paglione, J; Curtarolo, S; Takeuchi, I, Machine learning modeling of superconducting critical temperature, Npj Computational Materials, vol 4 no. 1 (2018) [10.1038/s41524-018-0085-8] [abs].
• Sarker, P; Harrington, T; Toher, C; Oses, C; Samiee, M; Maria, J-P; Brenner, DW; Vecchio, KS; Curtarolo, S, High-entropy high-hardness metal carbides discovered by entropy descriptors., Nature Communications, vol 9 no. 1 (2018) [10.1038/s41467-018-07160-7] [abs].