Benjamin Tayo

Associate Professor Benjamin Tayo, Ph.D., is a faculty member in the Department of Engineering & Physics at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), where he has taught since 2019. He concurrently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Physics at Grand Canyon University. Previously he held the rank of Assistant and then Associate Professor of Physics at Pittsburg State University (2013-2019).

Education

• Ph.D. in Computational Materials Physics, Lehigh University (2012)
• M.Sc. in Condensed Matter Physics, ICTP & University of Trieste (2007)
• B.Sc. in Physics and Computer Science, University of Buea (2004)
• Graduate certificates in Medical Physics (University of Florida) and Data Science (Harvard via edX)

Research Focus

Dr. Tayo’s research integrates ab-initio density-functional theory with high-performance computing to investigate two-dimensional and advanced functional materials. His group targets solar-energy harvesting, energy-storage electrodes, high-speed electronics, optoelectronics, and label-free DNA biosensors. Current projects include:

• 2-D materials beyond graphene for nano-bioelectronic sensing
• High-throughput computational screening for renewable-energy and biomedical applications
• Machine-learning-enhanced materials discovery

Collaborations span UCO’s Buddy supercomputer, NERSC, and experimental partners at Pittsburg State, Kansas, Lehigh and Tulsa universities.

Publication Trends

Over the past decade Dr. Tayo has published extensively on the electronic, optical and sensing properties of graphene, phosphorene, silicene and related nanostructures. Recent work (2020-2023) emphasizes computational DNA-sequencing platforms, ferrocene-based copolymers for sensing, and methodological studies in physics education. His earlier studies (2012-2015) centered on carbon nanotube excitons, graphene nanoribbon band-gap engineering and III-nitride alloys for visible-light applications.

Honors & Awards

• NIH R15 Award ($425,928, 2022-2025)
• Kansas EPSCoR Partners in Science & Technology recognition
• PSU Exceptional Faculty Performance Award 2014/15
• Sherman-Fairchild Fellowship (Lehigh)
• ICTP-TRIL Fellowship (UNESCO/IAEA)

Grants & Student Mentoring

Dr. Tayo has served as PI or Co-PI on grants from NIH, NSF EPSCoR, and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. He has directed nine master’s theses and numerous undergraduate research projects. His former students have progressed to doctoral programs at Kansas State, Case Western Reserve, UMass Boston and medical physics residencies.

Professional Engagement

Active memberships include the American Physical Society, Oklahoma Academy of Sciences, American Association of Physics Teachers, and American Association of Physicists in Medicine. He has delivered eight invited talks and over twenty conference presentations worldwide.