MUJAN N. SEIF

I am a Michigander born and raised. I grew up in metro Detroit, and went to Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills. I was always playing some sport (soccer, volleyball, basketball, and softball), played the french horn in symphony band (and mellophone in marching band!), and hung out in wood shop all the time. I was pretty good with academics, but for the life of me could not grasp Spanish (these days I'm learning French for fun - go figure). I love the Michigan Wolverines, and, accordingly, despise THE Ohio State University.  I wanted to go to college out of state, and visited the University of Kentucky on a whim on the way home from Vanderbilt. We happened to be there the day the Men's Basketball team won the 2012 NCAA National Championship, and I fell in love with the school right then and there. 

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I came in interested in both chemical and materials engineering, even considering a double major. During my sophomore year, I did a yearlong co-op at DuPont Titanium (now Chemours). While I had an incredible time, I realized I really wasn't interested in the chemical industry. I came back to campus fully focused on materials, and haven't looked back since.  My love of materials stems from how it truly bridges fundamental science with engineering. Affecting structure on the atomic scale has massive repercussions on the macroscopic scale. Years later, that continues to awe me.

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I did lots of research on an undergrad, and eventually realized how much I enjoyed computation. After I got my B.S. in 2017, I did a post-baccalaureate year with the Thornton Group at the University of Michigan. I used phase field calculations to model complex microstructures coarsening via surface diffusion. I then returned to the University of Kentucky, where I am currently a graduate student in the Beck Group pursuing a Ph.D. My research involves using a range of calculation techniques to design materials with improved response to hypervelocity impacts and also the dynamic surfaces of scandate cathodes. At UK, I collaborate heavily with the Balk Group, who specialize in materials synthesis and characterization, and the Gas Surface Interface Lab, who utilize CFD to study ablation and related processes. I also work closely with researchers at NASA Ames and ERG Aerospace.

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Long term, I would like to be a Professor of Materials at an R1 university. I love materials, research, teaching, and entrepreneurship. I am also very involved in the Society of Women Engineers, and plan to maintain that throughout my career.