Can Ataca

Can Ataca is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), affiliated with the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. He directs the STEAM Lab (Simulation, Theory and Engineering of Advanced Materials), focusing on computational investigations of materials for energy, device, and filtration applications using methods spanning density functional theory (DFT), quantum Monte Carlo (QMC), and molecular dynamics (MD).

He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Bilkent University's National Nanotechnology Research Center (Turkey), with double undergraduate degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering. Prior to UMBC, Ataca was a postdoctoral associate at MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering and a Senior Research Scientist at Brown University's Department of Chemistry.

Ataca's research targets low-dimensional materials, concrete, electrode materials, and molecular systems, emphasizing electronic, magnetic, and thermal properties under extreme conditions. His publications demonstrate extensive use of machine learning for materials property prediction, surface functionalization studies, and quantum mechanical simulations of 2D systems. His group develops computational methodologies bridging multiple length/time scales.

No specific awards, students, or grants are detailed in the provided materials. The STEAM Lab collaborates with national laboratories including NASA and welcomes students/postdocs interested in computational condensed matter physics.