Simon Billinge

Simon Billinge is a Professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University and a Scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania (1992) and a B.A. from Oxford University. Previously, he served as a postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory and held faculty positions at Michigan State University, advancing to Full Professor by 2003. His research focuses on nanoscale structure-property relationships using advanced X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques, particularly the atomic pair distribution function (PDF) method. He has published over 200 papers and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and Neutron Scattering Society of America.

Education:

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania (1992)
• B.A., Oxford University

Research Interests: His work spans materials for energy, catalysis, environmental remediation, and pharmaceuticals. He develops PDF methods to study disordered crystals and nanomaterials, integrating machine learning for data analysis. Recent trends include AI-driven structure solutions, operando studies of catalytic materials, and materials genome initiatives.

Awards:

• Carnegie Corporation honor (2011) for immigrant contributions
• 2010 J.D. Hanawalt Award
• Michigan State University Distinguished Faculty Award
• Thomas H. Osgood Teaching Award

Grants and Advising: He chairs major facility reviews and federally funded programs. His team at the Billinge Group (https://thebillingegroup.com/) develops tools like MLstructureMining and ClusterFinder for structural analysis. Collaborations include Brookhaven National Lab and global initiatives like the JUAMI African Materials Institute.