UCLA Materials Science Professor Receives DOE Award for Materials Synthesis Research

 



Daniel Schwalbe-Koda

Courtesy of Daniel Schwalbe-Koda

Oct 4, 2024

UCLA Samueli Newsroom

Daniel Schwalbe-Koda, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, has received a 2024 Early Career Research Program Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. 

The five-year, nearly $875,000 grant will support Schwalbe-Koda’s development of theoretical and computational techniques to better understand how materials can be synthesized at the atomic level.

This approach is akin to creating a “virtual microscope” for materials science, and aims to help design and manufacture next-generation materials, such as those for energy storage and conversion.

At UCLA, Schwalbe-Koda leads the Digital Synthesis Lab, which develops models to bridge the gap between computational predictions and experiments by combining data analysis, machine learning and high-performance computing.

Schwalbe-Koda, who joined UCLA Samueli in March, was one of 91 early career scientists from across the country selected to receive this year’s award. All of the proposed research projects align with the objectives of DOE’s eight major program offices. Schwalbe-Koda’s project was selected by the DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Among his recent accolades, Schwalbe-Koda has also been selected as a Scialog Fellow and was included in Forbes’ 2023 30 Under 30 List in the science category.

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