Faculty Directory
Fadi Abdeljawad

Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (beginning on February 1, 2026)

Contact

2145 Sheridan Road
Tech
Evanston, IL 60208-3109

Email Fadi Abdeljawad

Departments

Materials Science and Engineering

Education

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering (primary focus: Theoretical and computational materials science), Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

M.A. Mechanical Engineering (primary focus: Theoretical and computational materials science), Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC


Research Interests

The growing technological demands of the 21st century underpin the need to design materials by means of controlled manipulation of their microstructures. This design approach opens an exciting and bottomless field, in which one “zooms in” to the scale of materials defects to unravel new phenomena and physics. Abdeljawad’s group employs theoretical analysis, atomistic simulations, and mesoscale computational modeling to understand how materials microstructures form and evolve during processing treatments or under operating conditions—laying the scientific foundation for the next generation of advanced materials.  Abdeljawad’s group complements these computational efforts with machine learning frameworks that enable efficient, low-cost exploration of complex process–structure–property relationships. Abdeljawad’s research spans a wide range of problems including grain boundary chemistry and dynamics, defects in two-dimensional materials, materials for extremes, nanoscale sintering, microstructure development in 3D printing, metallic glasses, and evolving morphologies in energy devices.  



Significant Recognition

  • Outstanding Doctoral Student Advising Award, Lehigh University, 2025
  • Early Career Faculty Fellow Award, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), 2022
  • Junior Researcher Award, College of Engineering, Clemson University, 2022
  • Bob and Kays Stanzione Endowed Professorship, Clemson University, 2022
  • Dean's Faculty Fellow, College of Engineering, Clemson University, 2021
  • NSF Track IV Junior Faculty Fellow, National Science Foundation, 2021
  • Army Research Office Young Investigator Program Award, 2020
  • Byars Prize for Excellence in Teaching, College of Engineering, Clemson University, 2020
  • The Eastman Junior Faculty Award, Clemson University, 2020
  • International Young Scholar Award, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), 2019
  • Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award, Department of Energy ORAU, 2019
  • Young Leaders Professional Development Award, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), 2016
  • The Francis Lothrop Upton Graduate Fellowship, Princeton University, 2008-2012
  • The Martin Summerfield Graduate Fellowship, Princeton University, 2009-2010

Selected Publications

A. Barnett, O. Hussein, M. Alghalayini, A. Hinojos, J. Nathaniel, D. L. Medlin, K. Hattar, B. L. Boyce, F. Abdeljawad, “Triple Junction Segregation Dominates the Stability of Nanocrystalline Alloys,” Nano Letters 24 (2024) 9627


M. Alkayyali, M. Taghizadeh, F. Abdeljawad, “Understanding grain boundary segregation and solute drag using computational and machine learning studies,” Acta Materialia 275 (2024) 120037


Y. Mahmood, M. Daw, M. Chandross, F. Abdeljawad, “Universal Trends of Computed Grain Boundary Energies in FCC Metals,” Scripta Materialia 242 (2024) 115900


O. Hussein, K. Coffman, K. Hattar, S. Dillon, F. Abdeljawad, “Plateau-Rayleigh Instability with a Grain Boundary Twist,” Applied Physics Letters 121, 141601 (2022)


M. AlkayyaliD, F. Abdeljawad, “Grain Boundary Solute Drag Model in Regular Solution Alloys,” Physical Review Letters 127, 175503 (2021)


C. Barr, S. Foiles, M. Alkayyali, Y. Mahmood, P. Price, D. Adams, B. Boyce, F. Abdeljawad, K. Hattar, “The role of grain boundary character in solute segregation and thermal stability of nanocrystalline Pt-Au,” Nanoscale 13, 3552 (2021)


F. Abdeljawad, and M. Haataja, “Continuum modeling of bulk metallic glasses and composites,” Physical Review Letters 105, 125503 (2010)