Who we are
At the Nuclear, Optical, Magnetic, and Electronic (NOME) Materials Laboratory at Washington State University, we combine experiment, theory, and data science to address both fundamental issues in functional materials and applied problems needing technology development.
As materials scientist-engineers, we are interested in structure-property-processing-application relationships, grounded in solid state chemistry and physics, novel synthesis methods, and advanced materials characterization techniques. We believe that materials form the nexus of multiple disciplines, and we have worked with collaborators and partners in myriad traditional disciplinary areas in engineering (chemical, environmental, electrical, civil, and mechanical), physics (magnetism, optics, radiation detection, quantum mechanics), chemistry (radiochemistry, analytical chemistry, crystal chemistry), geology (mineralogy, petrology), and even social science (archaeology).
Read our statement on Research Philosophy →
What we work on
- Immobilization of radioactive and hazardous wastes using glasses and ceramics
- International cooperation on the safe disposal of used nuclear fuel
- Materials sustainability, including reuse of industrial waste materials
- Optical and magnetic techniques for probing local structure in ceramics
- Piezoelectric and electrocaloric materials
- High-temperature in-situ methods for studying materials — for example high-temperature thermoelectrics
- Materials informatics and machine learning spanning complex, sparse experimental and theoretical datasets
- Fundamental understanding of structural and chemical defects and disorder on functional behavior