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Stefano Curtarolo

Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
144 Hudson Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708-0300
144 Hudson Hall, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


RESEARCH FIELDS

  • Artificial Intelligence Materials Science
  • Autonomous Materials Design
  • Computational Materials Science
  • High-Entropy Disordered and Amorphous Systems
  • Materials for Energy Applications
  • Materials for Aerospace Applications
  • Materials for Deep Space Exploration

The research is multidisciplinary and makes use of state of the art techniques from fields like materials science, chemistry, physics, quantum mechanics, mathematics and computer science.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2021 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science · 2012 - Present Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Pratt School of Engineering
Director of the Center for Extreme Materials · 2025 - Present Pratt School of Engineering
Professor in the Department of Physics · 2012 - Present Physics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering · 2013 - Present Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering

In the News


Published August 13, 2024
Materials Scientist Stefano Curtarolo Elected to the European Academy of Sciences
Published January 11, 2024
Computational Method Discovers New Materials for Extreme Environments
Published November 16, 2023
Which Duke Scholars Made the Most Cited List?

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Recent Publications


Integrated computational and experimental investigation of Groups V and VI metals in (M,Hf,Ti,Zr)B2-(M,Hf,Ti,Zr)C ceramics

Journal Article Journal of the European Ceramic Society · February 1, 2026 Dual-phase compositionally complex ultra-high temperature ceramics were formulated by incorporating different Groups V and VI metals such as V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, or W into a base composition containing the Group IV elements, Hf, Ti, and Zr. Metal distributio ... Full text Cite

Soliquidy: a descriptor for atomic geometrical confusion

Journal Article Npj Computational Materials · December 1, 2025 Tailoring material properties often requires understanding the solidification process. Herein, we introduce the geometric descriptor Soliquidy, which numerically captures the Euclidean transport cost between the translationally disordered versus ordered st ... Full text Cite

Variable-Temperature Plasmonic High-Entropy Carbides

Journal Article High Entropy Alloys and Materials · December 1, 2025 Effective thermal management at variable and extreme temperatures face limitations for the development of novel energy and aerospace applications. Plasmonic approaches, shown to be capable of tailoring black-body emission, could be effective if materials w ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


DETER: Disrupting Electron Transport to Minimize Thermal Conductivity

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Missouri University of Science and Technology · 2024 - 2027

Transition States Algorithms for the AFLOW Encyclopedia of Crystallographic Prototypes

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Office of Naval Research · 2024 - 2027

NRT-HDR: Harnessing AI for Autonomous Material Design

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2020 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 2003 Sc.D.
Pennsylvania State University · 1999 M.S.
University of Padua (Italy) · 1998 M.S.
University of Padua (Italy) · 1995 M.S.