Irina Mazilu

Irina Mazilu is a Professor of Physics at Washington and Lee University, where she has been a faculty member since 2004. Originally from Romania, she attended Alexandru Ioan Cuza University behind the Iron Curtain before coming to the United States for graduate studies at SUNY Buffalo and Virginia Tech. At W&L, she teaches courses including General Physics, Nuclear Physics, Statistical Physics, and Introduction to Nanoscience.

Dr. Mazilu's educational journey began at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Romania, where she earned her undergraduate degree in physics during the communist regime. She then pursued graduate studies in the United States, first at SUNY Buffalo and later at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where she focused on the theoretical and computational side of physics.

Her research focuses on the theoretical and computational aspects of nanoscience, with particular interest in quantum dots, nanomaterials, and statistical physics. Dr. Mazilu collaborates closely with her husband Dan Mazilu and colleague Moataz Khalifa to build W&L's nanoscience program, although she notes they are "still far, far from calling it a program." Her work emphasizes high-impact projects that are competitive at national and international levels.

Dr. Mazilu has published numerous papers in first-tier journals on nanoscience research, often with W&L students as co-authors. Her recent work shows a strong trend toward computational modeling of nanoscale systems, with applications in quantum computing, nanoelectronics, and energy conversion. She emphasizes the importance of theoretical frameworks that can be validated through experimental work.

Dr. Mazilu is deeply committed to mentoring undergraduate researchers. "Doing research with students at W&L was eye-opening for us as mentors," she noted. "We opened up our approach to them and let the creativity fly." She and her husband have successfully guided students to present at conferences where they're often mistaken for graduate students or post-docs, and to secure internships and Ph.D. positions at prestigious institutions.

Together with Dan Mazilu, she co-led a Spring Term class to CERN in 2016 to study the Large Hadron Collider. The Mazilus are also planning a sabbatical to further develop their research program, with trips to Romania, Southeast Asia, and Iceland to establish new collaborations and learn new techniques.