Benjamin Afflerbach

Dr. Benjamin Afflerbach serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Engineering at Fort Lewis College's College of Arts and Sciences, with his office located in Berndt Hall 605. His research bridges computational physics, materials engineering, and data science through innovative interdisciplinary approaches.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2021)
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University (2014)

Dr. Afflerbach specializes in computational materials design using ab-initio and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, with particular focus on bulk metallic glasses. He pioneers machine learning approaches for materials property prediction through accessible featurization techniques, creating synergies between traditional computational methods and modern data-driven modeling in materials informatics.

His publication record reveals a clear trajectory toward integrating machine learning with materials discovery, particularly in predicting critical cooling rates for metallic glasses while simultaneously developing educational frameworks for undergraduate research engagement.

As director of the Informatics Skunkworks program, Dr. Afflerbach has established a significant mentorship legacy:

• Program Scale: Impacted over 500 students through group project-based research
• Research Focus: Applied machine learning in materials informatics contexts
• Educational Model: Scalable apprenticeship framework for authentic research experiences

The Informatics Skunkworks functions as an active undergraduate research laboratory within the Physics and Engineering department, operating as a collaborative hub for materials data science projects that connect classroom learning with real-world computational challenges.