The Peter O’Donnell Jr. Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Joshua Leveillee, explains his research expertise and why the Oden institute is the best place to help him move forward in his career.
I am currently an O’Donnell Postdoctoral Fellow at the Oden Institute working with Dr. Feliciano Giustino. Before arriving here, I completed my Ph.D. in computational materials science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with Professor Andre Schleife. My research focuses on the computational prediction of materials physics from first principles. Specifically, I use computational quantum-mechanical methods to develop a deeper understanding of the finite-temperature electronic and optical properties of high conductivity topological semi-metals and perovskite-based solar cells.
The simulation methods employed in my work, namely many-body perturbation theory, require massively parallel computational architectures to predict finite-temperature properties of modern complex materials. In revealing the underlying mechanisms behind how these materials function, I aim to design future energy harvesting and transporting materials that employ similar fundamental physics.My decision to apply to the Oden Institute as a post-doctoral researcher centered around working with Dr. Giustino, who is a leading scholar in the field of finite-temperature materials modeling and electron-phonon coupling physics. Additionally, I sought the interdisciplinary research environment that Oden Institute offered in order to expand my knowledge and collaboration beyond materials physics towards a wide array of advanced computational methods.