Maria Okuniewski

Maria Okuniewski is an Associate Professor in the School of Materials Engineering at Purdue University, with a courtesy appointment in Nuclear Engineering. She holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Tampa (1994), an M.S. (2004) and Ph.D. (2008) in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on the microstructural evolution of nuclear materials and fuels under radiation and fabrication processes, combining experimental and computational methods. Techniques include positron annihilation spectroscopy, nanoindentation, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and neutron diffraction. She has advised multiple graduate and undergraduate students. Recent publications emphasize U-Zr phase diagrams, radiation damage in nuclear fuels, and advanced manufacturing of structural alloys.

Research Interests: Connecting microstructure to mechanical properties in nuclear materials, multi-scale phenomena in materials, and development of advanced characterization techniques. Notable contributions include studies on uranium alloys, neutron irradiation effects, and fuel performance modeling.

Advising & Collaborations: Supervised 11 students (listed above). Collaborates with institutions like Idaho National Laboratory and the Advanced Photon Source. Research spans fuel design, irradiation effects, and structural integrity of nuclear systems.