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

Published on by Physics and Quantum Physics

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

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Xiaoping Yi | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Physics and Quantum Physics

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Xiaoping Yi | Best Researcher Award

University of Science and Technology Beijing | China

Dr. Xiaoping Yi is a materials scientist specializing in first-principles calculations and molecular dynamics of lithium batteries and solid electrolytes, with strong experience in both simulation and experimental design. She earned her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Science and Technology Beijing (2018–2023) and also conducted research at the University of Birmingham, UK, focusing on novel inorganic solid electrolytes, polymer electrolyte design, and silicon-based anodes. After completing her doctorate, she joined the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences as a postdoctoral researcher (2023–2025), and in 2025 she became Associate Professor at the University of Science and Technology Beijing. Her research interests include nanomaterials design, solid-state lithium/sodium ion batteries, interface electrochemistry, catalytic mechanisms, synchrotron spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and computational materials science. She has published over 25 peer-reviewed SCI articles in high-impact journals (e.g. Advanced Energy Materials, Energy Storage Materials), and her work is recognized for integrating theory and experiment to address performance and safety trade-offs in all-solid-state batteries. Her representative recent work is “Achieving Balanced Performance and Safety for Manufacturing All‐Solid‐State Lithium Metal Batteries by Polymer Base Adjustment” (Adv. Energy Mater., 2025). Her current h-index is approximately 13 with ~1,164 citations (estimated) according to public metrics. She has received recognition for her contributions in battery materials and solid-state electrolytes. Looking ahead, she aims to drive breakthroughs in safe, high-energy density solid-state battery systems via multiscale modeling and experimental validation.

Profile : Orcid

Featured Publications

Yi, X., Li, H.*, Yang, Y., Xiao, K., Zhang, S., Wang, B., Wu, N., Cao, B., Zhou, K., Zhao, X., Leong, K. W., et al. (2025). Achieving balanced performance and safety for manufacturing all-solid-state lithium metal batteries by polymer base adjustment. Advanced Energy Materials, 15(3), 2404973.

Yi, X., Li, H.*, et al. (2025). Strategically tailored polyethylene separator parameters enable cost-effective, facile, and scalable development of ultra-stable liquid and all-solid-state lithium batteries. Energy Storage Materials, 77, 104191.

Chen, N., Yi, X., Liang, Y., et al. (2025). Terminal steric shielding resolves solvent co-intercalation degradation: Molecularly tailored weak-solvation electrolytes for structurally durable K-ion batteries. Chemical Engineering Journal. (Accepted).

Qi, G., Yi, X.*, et al. (2025). Electrochemical-mechanical coupled phase-field modeling for lithium dendrite growth in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 110, 80–87.

Chen, N., Yi, X., Liang, Y., et al. (2024). Dual-steric hindrance modulation of interface electrochemistry for potassium-ion batteries. ACS Nano, 18(32), 32205–32214.