Prof. Dr. Iurii Korobov | Excellence in Research Award

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Prof. Dr. Iurii Korobov | Excellence in Research Award

Institute of Metal Physics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Science | Russia

Yurii Korobov is a Principal Researcher and Head of the Laboratory of Laser/Plasma Processing at Ural’skij Federal’nyj Universitet imeni pervogo Prezidenta Rossii B. N. El’cina, Ekaterinburg, Russia, where he has been serving since 2019. His research focuses on laser and plasma processing, additive manufacturing, surface coatings, and material restoration techniques. He has contributed to studies on WAAM cladding for dendrite-reinforced composite bronze coatings, multi-pass friction stir lap welding for mold copper plate restoration, cavitation erosion resistance of austenitic steels, and micromechanical properties of nickel-chromium coatings obtained via gas powder laser cladding. In addition to his extensive research, he has participated in peer review activities for journals such as Surface & Coatings Technology. Korobov’s work combines advanced metallurgical techniques with practical applications in materials engineering, emphasizing defect minimization, thermal effects, and material performance. He continues to advance the field of laser/plasma materials processing through experimental studies and collaborative research.

Profile : Orcid

Featured Publications

Korobov, Y., Okulov, A., Khlebnikova, Y., Iusupova, O., Egorova, L., Suaridze, T., Potekhin, B., Sholokhov, M., Sonar, T., & Naseri, M. (2025). Shielding gas effect on dendrite-reinforced composite bronze coatings via WAAM cladding: Minimizing defects and intergranular bronze penetration into 09G2S steel. Technologies. https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies13110525

Makarov, A. V., Lezhnin, N. V., Kotelnikov, A. B., Vopneruk, A. A., Korobov, Y. S., Valiullin, A. I., & Volkova, E. G. (2024). Restoration of continuous casting machine mold copper plates made of Cr–Zr bronze using multi-pass friction stir lap welding. Izvestiya. Non-Ferrous Metallurgy. https://doi.org/10.17073/0021-3438-2023-6-66-83

Korobov, Y., Alwan, H., Makarov, A., Kukareko, V., Sirosh, V., Filippov, M., & Estemirova, S. (2022). Comparative study of cavitation erosion resistance of austenitic steels with different levels of metastability. Metal Working and Material Science. https://doi.org/10.17212/1994-6309-2022-24.1-61-72

Soboleva, N., Makarov, A., Stepchenkov, A., Malygina, I., & Korobov, Y. (2020). Influence of thermal effects on the micromechanical properties of the nickel-chromium coating obtained by gas powder laser cladding. Metal Working and Material Science. https://doi.org/10.17212/1994-6309-2020-22.2-104-117

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Niaz Abdolrahim | Best Researcher Award

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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Niaz Abdolrahim | Best Researcher Award

University of Rochester | United States

Dr. Niaz Abdolrahim is an accomplished materials scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Rochester, where she leads pioneering research in multiscale modeling, nanomechanics, and computational materials science. She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and has since developed a strong research portfolio that integrates atomistic simulations, machine learning, and continuum mechanics to study deformation mechanisms, structural phase transformations, and the design of high-performance nanostructured materials. With over 44 published documents, more than 717 citations, and an h-index of 16, her scholarly contributions have been widely recognized in the fields of materials modeling and nanostructure design. Dr. Abdolrahim has secured multiple NSF-funded projects, including the study of stress-assisted phase transformations and data-driven analysis of lattice dynamics. Her work has been published in prestigious journals such as Acta Materialia, npj Computational Materials, Physical Review B, and ACS Applied Nano Materials. Her research interests encompass nanostructured metals, deformation physics, data-driven materials design, and high-performance alloys. Dr. Abdolrahim’s innovative contributions continue to advance the understanding of mechanical behavior in nanoscale systems and establish her as a leading figure in computational materials science and multiscale simulation.

Profiles : Scopus | Orcid | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Mostafa, A., Qian, S., Li, F., Rabkin, E., & Abdolrahim, N. (2026). Bending-induced phase transformations and penta-twinning in molybdenum: From nano to microscale. Acta Materialia, 264, 121646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121646

Karami, S., Kum, T. B., Kirmani, A. R., & Abdolrahim, N. (2025). Proton radiation effects in indium oxide using cascade molecular dynamics simulations. APL Energy, 4(9), 0266752. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0266752

Alvarez, A., Abdolrahim, N., & Singh, S. (2025). Anomalous elastic softening in ferroelectric hafnia under pressure. Physical Review B, 111(6), 064106. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.064106

Mostafa, A., Vu, L., Guo, Z., Shargh, A. K., Dey, A., Askari, H., & Abdolrahim, N. (2024). Phase-transformation assisted twinning in molybdenum nanowires. Computational Materials Science, 237, 113273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2024.113273

Salgado, J. E., Lerman, S., Du, Z., Xu, C., & Abdolrahim, N. (2023). Automated classification of big X-ray diffraction data using deep learning models. npj Computational Materials, 9(1), 214. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-023-01164-8

Assist. Prof. Dr. Fikadu Geldasa | Best Researcher Award

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Assist. Prof. Dr. Fikadu Geldasa | Best Researcher Award

Walter Sisulu University | South Africa

Dr. Fikadu Takele Geldasa is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Walter Sisulu University, South Africa, and Oda Bultum University, Ethiopia. He has published 19 Scopus-indexed research papers, received more than 323 citations, and holds an h-index of 6. He obtained his Ph.D. in Materials Physics from Adama Science and Technology University. His research focuses on experimental and computational studies of functional nanomaterials using density functional theory (DFT) and materials characterization techniques. Dr. Geldasa works on the structural, electronic, and optical properties of doped metal oxides, perovskites, and semiconductor materials for applications in photocatalysis, energy conversion, and environmental remediation. His recent works on doped TiO₂ and α-NiS nanostructures provide insights into bandgap engineering and defect tuning for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity. He has published his research in leading journals such as Scientific Reports, Nanomaterials, Materials, and Physica Scripta. His interdisciplinary research integrates theory and experiment to develop advanced materials for renewable energy and sustainable technology. Through his scientific contributions, Dr. Geldasa is establishing himself as a promising researcher in materials physics and computational materials science, contributing significantly to the progress of clean energy and environmental technologies.

Profiles : Scopus | Orcid | Research Gate | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Geldasa, F. T., Dejene, F. B., Kebede, M. A., Hone, F. G., & Jira, E. T. (2025). Density functional theory study of chlorine, fluorine, nitrogen, and sulfur doped rutile TiO₂ for photocatalytic application. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 3390. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84316-0

Geldasa, F. T., & Dejene, F. B. (2025). Transition metal doping effects on the structural, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of α-NiS for photocatalysis applications via DFT + U insights. Applied Physics A. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-025-08942-9

Geldasa, F. T., & Dejene, F. B. (2025). First principles investigation of niobium and carbon-doped titanium dioxide for enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity. ChemistrySelect. https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202504529

Geldasa, F. T., & Dejene, F. B. (2025). Exploration of vanadium and rhenium co-doped TiO₂ for enhanced photocatalytic performance via first principle density functional theory investigation. Physica Scripta. https://doi.org/10.1088/1402-4896/adf156

Geldasa, F. T., & Dejene, F. B. (2025). Density functional theory based exploration of structural, electronic, mechanical, thermodynamic, and optical properties of α-NiS for CO₂ adsorption. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/aded5f

Assist. Prof. Dr. Akeem Adewale | Best Researcher Award

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Assist. Prof. Dr. Akeem Adewale | Best Researcher Award

Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomoso | Nigeria

Dr. Akeem Adekunle Adewale is a distinguished materials physicist and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pure and Applied Physics at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia, following his M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in Physics from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. With a prolific academic career, Dr. Adewale has authored 25 scientific documents, accumulated over 201 citations, and achieved an h-index of 9. His research focuses on computational materials science, density functional theory (DFT), nanotechnology, and optoelectronic and thermoelectric materials modeling. Dr. Adewale’s studies have significantly contributed to understanding the structural, electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of advanced materials such as perovskites, semiconductors, and nanocomposites. His works have been published in reputed journals including Materials Today Communications, Heliyon, Physica Scripta, and Computational Condensed Matter. Prior to his current role, he served as a Lecturer in Physics and Materials Science at Kwara State University, Nigeria. Dr. Adewale continues to advance frontiers in materials modeling for renewable energy and semiconductor technologies. His outstanding contributions to materials research position him as a leading scholar in the field of computational materials science.

Profiles : Scopus | Google Scholar | Research Gate | Orcid

Featured Publications

Adewale, A. A., Chik, A., Adam, T., Yusuff, O. K., Ayinde, S. A., & Sanusi, Y. K. (2021). First principles calculations of structural, electronic, mechanical and thermoelectric properties of cubic ATiO3 (A= Be, Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba) perovskite oxide. Computational Condensed Matter, 28, e00562.

Adewale, A. A., Chik, A., Adam, T., Joshua, T. M., & Durowoju, M. O. (2021). Optoelectronic behavior of ZnS compound and its alloy: A first principle approach. Materials Today Communications, 27, 102077.

Olatomiwa, A. L., Adam, T., Edet, C. O., Adewale, A. A., Chik, A., Mohammed, M., Gopinath, S. C. B., & Hashim, U. (2023). Recent advances in density functional theory approach for optoelectronics properties of graphene. Heliyon, 9(3), e14279.

Sholagberu, A. A., Yahya, W. A., & Adewale, A. A. (2022). Pressure effects on the opto-electronic and mechanical properties of the double perovskite Cs₂AgInCl₆. Physica Scripta, 97(8), 085824.

Adewale, A. A., Chik, A., Zaki, R. M., Che Pa, F., Keat, Y. C., & Jamil, N. H. (2018). Thermoelectric transport properties of SrTiO₃ doped with Pm. Solid State Phenomena, 280, 3–8.

Yahya, W., Yahaya, A. A., Adewale, A. A., Sholagberu, A. A., & Olasunkanmi, N. K. (2023). A DFT study of optoelectronic, elastic and thermo-electric properties of the double perovskites Rb₂SeX₆ (X=Br, Cl). Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences, 1418–1418.