Engineered Microstructures and Radiation Effects Laboratory (EMREL)

The Engineered Microstructures and Radiation Effects Laboratory (EMREL) at Stony Brook University explores the science of interface engineered alloys with particular emphasis on high-strength and radiation-tolerant nanomaterials for extreme environment applications. Research couples novel processing techniques and in situ characterization tools with large-scale atomistic simulations in the design of hierarchically structured alloys with characteristic structural length scales spanning orders of magnitude from the nanometer to microscale regime. Materials are synthesized through a variety of methods selected specifically to introduce key microstructural features for improved properties that include electroforming, sputter and pulsed laser deposition, additive spray deposition, and laser additive manufacturing techniques. The common theme among all material systems studied involves tailoring interfaces (e.g., grain and phase boundaries) across multiple length scales ranging from the atomic (solute segregation at grain boundaries) and nanoscale (chemical inhomogeneities in multiphase systems and interface network effects) to collective responses of tailored microstructures that ultimately govern thermal stability, mechanical behavior, and radiation tolerance. Our research is supported by the National Science Foundation through the Division of Materials Research and the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation Division, the Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy Sciences and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and the Office of Naval Research.