Alpay, Pamir

Professor, Materials Science & Engineering

Email pamir.alpay@uconn.edu
Phone (860) 486-6917
Mailing Address Materials Science and Engineering 25 King Hill Road, Unit 3136 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 06269-3136
Campus Storrs
Link Affiliation Website
Google Scholar Link

Brief Bio

Dr. Pamir Alpay received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 1999 from the University of Maryland, where he specialized in modeling of functional materials systems. After a post-doctoral stay at the University of Maryland, Dr. Alpay joined UConn’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) as an Assistant Professor in 2001. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor (with academic tenure) and then to Professor in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Dr. Alpay served as the Department Head of MSE from 2013-2017. In 2018, Dr. Alpay was named as the General Electric Endowed Professor in Advanced Manufacturing in the School of Engineering.

Dr. Alpay has an impressive research background, which includes an NSF-CAREER Award in 2001, the UConn School of Engineering Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in 2004, over 180 peer-reviewed journal publications and conference proceedings, four invited book chapters, and an invited book co-authored on compositionally graded ferroelectric materials.

Dr. Alpay also has a proven record as a capable collaborator, having successfully organized several international symposia for major conferences on a variety of topics, including ferroelectric thin films, multiferroic materials, and functional materials in nanoscale. Dr. Alpay is a respected leader in his field, and has delivered nearly 100 invited talks/seminars at academic institutions, national laboratories, industry, and in international meetings and workshops.

Dr. Alpay is an elected member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE), is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and was the United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Associate Professor in Engineering Innovation from 2008 to 2010. His research focuses on smart/functional materials, materials modeling, and metallurgy. He is also currently an Editor for the Journal of Materials Science.

  • Multiscale modeling of materials
  • Ferroic and multiferroic materials
  • Conducting oxides
  • Polarizable semiconductors
  • Tunable dielectrics for microwave devices
  • Defect microstructures in functional materials
  • Materials for electrical contacts
  • Electrothermal properties of materials (IR detection, on-chip heating/cooling)
  • Inducing quantum phase transitions in nontopological insulators via atomic control of substructural elements 
    J. Zhang, R.S. Uwanyuze, S. Shuster, J.E. Kanyo, B. Yavas, S. Schafföner, L.D. Frame, S. Alpay, S.L. Suib, J. Mater. Eng. Perform,  (2025)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-025-11128-2 
  • Extrinsic dielectric response due to domain wall motion in ferroelectric BaTiO3 
    A. Gurung, M.F. Ishtiyaq, S.P. Alpay, J. Mangeri, S. Nakhmanson, Computational Materials Today 5, 100016 (2025)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commt.2024.100016 
  • Strain-tunable robust ferroelectricity in two-dimensional monochalcogenide heterostructures 
    R. Paudel, S.P. Alpay, M. Aindow, Appl. Surf. Sci., 682, 161785 (2025)
    https://doi.org/10.1002/jcc.70013
  • First-Principles Modeling of Interfacial Adhesion Strength of Epoxy Resins on Copper Surfaces  
    UA Anene, S.P. Alpay, J. Phys. Chem. C, 129 7 33 (2025)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2024.114345
  • Influence of Ligand Complexity on the Spectroscopic Properties of Type 1 Copper Sites: A Theoretical Study
    U. Ozuguzel, S. Safaltin, S.P. Alpay, K. Alkadry, R. Nieman, C. Korzeniewski, A. JA Aquino, J. Comput. Chem., 46 1 (2025)
    https://doi.org/10.1002/jcc.70013 
  • Transformations in Laser Track Microstructure for a Quasicrystal-Reinforced Al-Cu-Fe-Cr
    B. Yavas, M. Li, C.J. Hung, R.J. Hebert, S.P. Alpay, M. Aindow, Materials Characterization, 217, 114345 (2024)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2024.114345
  • High-Temperature Interactions Between Titanium Alloys and Strontium Zirconate Refractories   
    R.S. Uwanyuze, B. Yavas, J. Zhang, J. E Kanyo, L. D Frame, R. J Hebert, S. Schafföner, S.P. Alpay, J. Mater. Eng. Perform, 33, 18 9488-9498 (2024)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2024.114345
  • First-principles Analysis of the Local Atomic Environment in Calcium Lanthanum Sulfide Ceramics
    C. M. Atkinson, S. P. Alpay, and M. Guziewski, Acta Mater. 271, 119881 (2024)
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2024.119881 
  • Inducing quantum phase transitions in nontopological insulators via atomic control of substructural elements 
    T.K. Reid, S.P. Alpay, A.V. Balatsky, S.K. Nayak, Phys. Rev. 108, 235402 (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.108.235402 
  • Deciphering electrochemical interactions in metal-polymer catalysts for CO2 reduction 
    X. Wang, S. Sahoo, J. Gascon, M. Bragin, F. Liu, J. Olchowski, S. Rothfarb, Y. Huang, W. Xiang, P. Gao,   S. P. Alpay, and B. Li, Energy Environ. Sci. 16, 4388-4403 (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1039/D3EE01647A 
  • Modeling Structure-Properties Relations in Compositionally Disordered Relaxor Dielectrics at the Nanoscale
    A. Gurung, J. M. Mangeri, A. M. Hagerstrom, N. D. Orloff, S. P. Alpay, and S. Nakhmanson, J. Appl. Phys. 134, 104102 (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0160448 
  • High-Temperature Interactions Between Titanium Alloys and Strontium Zirconate Refractories
    R. S. Uwanyuze, B. Yavas, J. Zhang, J. E. Kanyo, L. D. Frame, R. J. Hebert, S. Schafföner, and S. P. Alpay, Journal of Materials Engineering & Performance, (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-023-08597-8
  • Engineering the Electro-optic effect in HfO2 and ZrO2 through Strain and Polarization Control
    F. Delodovici, C. Atkinson, R. Xu, P-E. Janolin, S.P. Alpay, C. Paillard, J. Appl. Phys. 134, 055108 (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0158909
  • Quasicrystal stability in complex aluminum alloys: insights from first principles models on structural motifs in crystalline approximants
    B. Yavas, C. J. Hung, S. K. Nayak, M. Aindow, and S. P. Alpay, Scripta Mater. 222, 115046 (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2022.115046
  • Laser Glazing of a Quasicrystal-reinforced Al-Cu-Fe-Cr alloy: Implications for Use in Additive Manufacturing
    B. Yavas, C. J. Hung, Cain J Hung, M. Li, R. J. Hebert, S. P. Alpay, and M. Aindow, Scripta Mater. 226, 115249 (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2022.115249
  • Topological variations in aluminum-silicon alloys through inoculation with alkali earth elements: A first-principles study
    T.K. Reid, B. Yavas, S. Sahoo, and S.P. Alpay, Scripta Mater. 234, 115574 (2023)
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2023.115574
  • Data-driven methods for discovery of next-generation electrostrictive materials
    D. Trujillo, A. Gurung, J. Yu, S. K. Nayak, S. P. Alpay, P. Janolin, npj Computational Materials (2022)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-022-00941-1
  • Improving Alkaline Hydrogen Oxidation Activity of Palladium through Interactions with Transition-Metal Oxides
    M. V. Pagliaro, C. Wen, B. Sa, B. Liu, M. Bellini, F. Bartoli, S. Sahoo, R. K. Singh, S. P. Alpay, H. A. Miller, and Dario R. DekeI,  ACS Catal. 12, 10894−10904 (2022)
    https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.2c02417
  • Magnetically Doped Molybdenum Disulfide Layers for Enhanced Carbon Dioxide Capture
    S. Bamonte, S. Shubhashish, H. Khanna, S. Shuster, S. J. B. Rubio, S. L. Suib, S. P. Alpay, and S. Sahoo,  ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 14, 27799–27813 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c01820
  • Local atomic structure distortions in the Dion-Jacobson ferroelectric CsBiNb2O7
    J. Kong, S. K. Nayak, J. Liu, S. P. Alpay, and A. Pramanick, Phys. Rev. B 106, 024103 (2022) https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.024103
  • Potassium Cyamelurate K3[C6N7O3] Rod: A New Visible-light Photocatalyst for Homogeneous / Heterogeneous Degradation of Antibiotics
    W. Wang, Z. Chen, X. Yang, P. Audebert, S. Sahoo, J. Chen, Y. Liu, S. P. Alpay, L. Xie, and G. Wei, Applied Catalysis A General 641, 118669 (2022)
  • Matrix Controlled Structural Phase Transformations in Embedded Metallic Nanoparticles
    C. J. Hung, S. K. Nayak, L. R. Parent, R. J. Hebert, and S. P. Alpay, Scripta Mater. 213, 114632 (2022)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2022.114632
  • Post-synthetic Modification of STAM-17-OEt Metal-organic Frameworks via First Principles Calculations
    U. A. Anene and S. P. Alpay, ACS Omega 7, 7791-7805 (2022)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c06658
  • A First Principles Analysis of Oxidation in Titanium Alloys with Aluminum and Vanadium
    R. S. Uwanyuze, S. P. Alpay, S. Schafföner, and S. Sahoo, Surface Science 719, 122026 (2022)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2022.122026 
  • Surface Charge Mediated Polar Response in Ferroelectric Nanoparticles
    K. Co, S. P. Alpay, S. K. Nakhmanson, and J. Mangeri, Appl. Phys. Lett. 119, 262903 (2021); Editor’s Pick
    DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0077629
  • Point Defect Induced Incommensurate Dipole Moments in Dion-Jacobson Layered Perovskites
    J. Kong, S. K. Nayak, K. Co, S. Nayak, J. Wu, A. Feteira, K. A. Beyer, S. P. Alpay, and A. Pramanick, Phys. Rev. B. 104, 224104 (2021)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0077629
  • First Principles Analysis of Impurities in Silicon Carbide Grain Boundaries
    C. M. Atkinson, M. C. Guziewski, S. P. Coleman, S. K. Nayak, and S. P. Alpay,     Acta Mater. 221, 117421 (2021)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2021.117421
  • Thermal-Mechanical Finite Element Analysis of Orthogonal Cutting for Normalized Steels
    L. Miller, K. Zhou, J. Tang, L. D. Frame, R. J. Hebert, L. R. Narayan, A. Merkouriou, S. P. Alpay, and J. Kim, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 114, 3337–3356 (2021)
    DOI:     https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-07130-2
  • Atomic Configurations for Materials Research: A Case Study of Some Simple Binary Compounds
    Tuoc N. Vu, Sanjeev K. Nayak, Nga T. T. Nguyen, S. P. Alpay, and Huan Tran, AIP Advances 11, 045120 (2021)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0044180
  • Surface Localized Magnetism in Transition Metal Doped Alumina
    E. Nykwest, D. Trujillo, and S.P. Alpay, Scientific Reports 11, 6410 (2021)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85791-5
  • Atomistic Insights into the Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction of Palladium-Ceria Bifunctional Catalysts for Anion-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
    S. Sahoo, D. Dekel, R. Maric, and S. P. Alpay, ACS Catalysis 11, 2561−2571 (2021)
    DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.0c04646
  • Strain-Induced Surface Modalities in Pnictogen Chalcogenide Topological Insulators
    T. K. Reid, S. K. Nayak, and S. P. Alpay, J. Appl. Phys. 129, 015304 (2021)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0028231
  • Moisture-Induced Structural Degradation in Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite Thin Films
    P. Toloueinia, H. Khassaf, A. Shirazi Amin, Z. Tobin, S. P. Alpay, and S. L. Suib, ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 3, 8240 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.0c00638

  • Atomic-Layer Adhesion of Ferroelectric Nanoparticles: A New Approach to Dielectric Composites
    Y. Espinal, S. Vijayan, S. P. Alpay, M. Aindow, and B. Hanrahan, J. Mater. Sci. 55, 16063 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05145-w

  • Surface Structure and Energetics of Low Index Facets of Bismuth Ferrite
    D. Trujillo, A. Ghosh, S. Nakhmanson, S. Sahoo, and S. P. Alpay, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., Advance Article (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CP01575J

  • Optical response of nickel-based superalloy Inconel-718 for applications in additive manufacturing 
    E. B. Curry, S. Sahoo, C. Herrera, I. Sochnikov, S. P. Alpay, R. J. Hebert, B. G. Willis, J. Qi, and J. N. Hancock, J. Appl. Phys. 127, 245111 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0006006

  • Pyroelectric Energy Conversion on PbLa(Zr,Ti)O3 from Catalytic Combustion on Nanostructured Iridium Oxide at the Ferroelectric Phase Transition
    B. M. Hanrahan, J. Easa, A. Payne, Y. Espinal, S. P Alpay, H. Kareem, C. O'Brien, A. Smith, Cell Reports Physical Science 1, 100075 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100075

  • Electrocaloric and Pyroelectric Properties of Barium Zirconate Titanate
    K. Co, H. Khassaf, and S. P. Alpay, J. Appl. Phys. 127, 174102 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0003000

  • Novel Al-X Alloys with Improved Hardness
    C. J Hung, S. K. Nayak, Y. Sun, C. Fennessy, V. K. Vedula, S. Tulyani, S. – W. Lee, S. P. Alpay, and R. J. Hebert, Materials and Design 192, 108699 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2020.108699

  • Electronic and optical properties of zinc based hybrid organic-inorganic compounds
    T. Sahoo, U. A. Anene, S. K. Nayak and S. P. Alpay, Mater. Res. Express 7, 035701 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab7ac4

  • First-principles modeling of binary layered topological insulators: Structural optimization and exchange-correlation functionals
    T. K. Reid,  S. P. Alpay,  A. V. Balatsky and S. K. Nayak, Phys. Rev. B 101, 085140 (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.085140

  • Influence of Octahedral Cation Distribution in Montmorillonite on Interlayer Hydrogen Counter-Ion Retention Strength via First-Principles Calculations
    Y. W. Li, C. P. Schulthess, K. Co, S. Sahoo, and S. P. Alpay, Clays Clay Miner. (2020)
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42860-019-00038-9