Grassman earns NSF CAREER award to research defects in atomic structures
Tyler Grassman, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has received a five-year, $613,995 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation. His research focuses on identifying atomic structures of defects and understanding how they degrade the parent materials’ electronic and optical properties.
The CAREER award is the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and their integration.
Grassman's project, "Revealing the Fundamental Mechanisms Behind the Dislocation-Induced Electronic States in III-V Semiconductors" focuses on determining the atomic-level underlying cause of dislocations in semiconductors caused by the integration of materials with dissimilarities in a crystal structure.
"The research that I proposed is a fundamental scientific question that’s been on my mind for a long time and something that my group has been working toward for a while, so this award is an opportunity to really go after it using complex research," he said.
The semiconductor/functional materials footprint of the department continues to grow and earn recognition by being awarded semiconductor-based research, which also builds on the unit’s existing strengths like electron microscopy and analysis.
Collaborators will include students from Grassman's research group and eventually a team beyond the department, which will contribute respective specialties. "It’s a tough project and there will be a lot of opportunities, and likely need, for collaboration more broadly within Ohio State, and maybe beyond,” he said.
Grassman joined The Ohio State University as a research track professor in 2012 and started a tenure track position in 2015. He also maintains a joint appointment with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He earned his bachelor's in chemistry from the University of Oregon, and his MS and PhD degrees in materials science and engineering from the University of California, San Diego. Grassman completed postdoctoral and staff research positions in the Electronic Materials and Devices Laboratory and the Institute for Materials Research at Ohio State before joining the faculty roster.
by Libby Culley, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, culley.36@osu.edu
