David Mandrus

David Mandrus is a Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering within the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee. He also holds the Jerry and Kay Henry Endowed Professor title and is a Joint Faculty member at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). His research focuses on the growth and discovery of quantum materials, particularly those with coupled magnetic and electronic transport properties, such as superconductors, thermoelectrics, multiferroics, and van der Waals magnets.

• Education: PhD in Physics (Stony Brook University, 1992)
• Professional Affiliation:
  • Leader of the Emergent Crystalline Matter (ECM) group
  • Collaboration with ORNL on neutron scattering and nanoelectronics

Research Interests span quantum materials, including chiral magnets with exotic spin textures, topological properties, and itinerant magnets. His work often involves pressure-dependent studies, 2D materials, and heterostructures for novel electronic and magnetic phenomena.

Scientific Awards include:

• Fellow of the American Physical Society
• Gordon Battelle Prize for scientific discovery
• Moore Foundation Materials Synthesis Investigator
• UT-Battelle Scientific Research Award
• Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher (2017–2020)
• Member of the Superconductor Science and Technology Advisory Board

Advising includes PhD students like Brianna Musicó (2021), Amanda and Deepak Poudel (2019), with group members such as Ganesh Pokharel, Rui Xue, Nan Huang, and Matthew Cothrine.

Labs and Teams: The Emergent Crystalline Matter (ECM) group at UT collaborates closely with ORNL on quantum materials synthesis and advanced characterization techniques like neutron scattering. The group investigates van der Waals magnets, kagome metals, and topological materials, with members attending workshops such as the Fundamentals of Quantum Materials Winter School at the University of Maryland.