Lucien Brush

Lucien Brush is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, with adjunct positions in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics. His research focuses on computational and theoretical materials processing science, emphasizing phase transitions, interfacial phenomena, and thin film dynamics. He holds a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University (1988), following degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Carnegie Mellon. Brush has held prestigious roles including Boeing Welliver Faculty Fellow and NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellow.

His research interests span:

• Metallic Foams: Dynamics, stability, and solidification of gas-liquid metallic foams for lightweight materials applications.
• Spin Coating: Modeling nanoscale thin film formation for photovoltaic and electronic devices.
• Colloidal Self-Assembly: Evaporative formation of photonic crystals and environmental sensors.
• Crystal Growth: Effects of external forces (e.g., electric fields, adsorbing proteins) on growth kinetics and morphologies.

Notable honors include multiple UW Faculty of the Year awards (2008, 2003, 1998) and Visiting Scientist appointments at the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan. His work bridges applied mathematics and materials science, with contributions to fluid mechanics, phase field modeling, and thermal field computations.

Brush has advised numerous collaborative projects, including NSF-funded research on metallic foam modeling. He is affiliated with the UW Institute of Advanced Materials Science and Technology and maintains ties to organizations like ASMI and Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories.