Paul F. Rottmann

Paul F. Rottmann is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical and Materials Engineering department at the University of Kentucky's Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering. He specializes in advanced materials characterization to connect macroscopic properties with nanoscale mechanisms in metals and thin films.

• Ph.D., Materials Science & Engineering, Johns Hopkins University (2017)
• M.S., Materials Science & Engineering, Johns Hopkins University (2012)
• B.S., Materials Science & Engineering, University of Kentucky (2010)

His research focuses on additive manufacturing (e.g., Inconel 718, aluminum alloys) and high-temperature thin film alloys, emphasizing processing-microstructure-property relationships. Techniques include custom small-scale mechanical testing, in situ SEM with FemtoTools platforms, and UK Electron Microscopy Center equipment.

Recent trends in his publications highlight additive manufacturing (geometric effects on properties, applied magnetic fields), thin film characterization (refractory alloys, oxidation behavior), and fundamental deformation mechanisms (twins in magnesium, dislocation pathways, porous carbon fibers).

The Rottmann Research Group trains students in fabrication-to-characterization approaches. Current members include graduate students Alewi Damilola David, Md. Imran Noor, R. Nicholaus (Nic) Quammen, Ben R. Sampson, and T. Connor Varney, who completed their Ph.D.s in 2024.