The Balk research group applies a variety of characterization and testing techniques to investigate the structure and mechanical behavior of materials. In particular, the group focuses on three groups of materials:
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Thin film and bulk nanoporous metals and alloys are fabricated by dealloying precursor materials, which have been made via magnetron sputtering or arc melting. Links between the structure and mechanical/chemical properties of these materials are studied.
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Dispenser cathodes are a significant focus of our research efforts, especially scandate cathodes. Kelvin probe measurements, electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are employed to investigate material properties and link these to the cathode’s emission characteristics.
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High entropy alloys are fabricated and studied both in bulk and thin film forms, to investigate structure-property links in mechanical behavior.
Recent Events:
- 12/2025: Nusrat Jahan joined our research group as a PhD student
- 01/2025: We began work on an ARPA-E project to develop advanced tungsten-based composite materials for a fusion reactor environment
- 05/2025: Tibra Das Gupta successfully completed his dissertation on “Combinatorial Thin Film Approach to Accelerate Materials Discovery: Development of Nanoporous and Bulk Multi-Principal Element Alloys”
