Dr. Nicholas A. Pike

Computational Materials Physicist

Research Experience Research Scientist | AV / USAF Research Laboratory | 2019 – Present

As a computational physicist and materials scientist, I investigate solid-state and soft matter systems with an emphasis on linear and nonlinear optical materials, ferroelectrics, 2D materials, and their heterostructures, as well as polymer systems.

My research connects first-principles calculations with molecular dynamics simulations to deepen our understanding of material behavior.

I am the developer and primary user of the Python package "DFTCONTROL," which facilitates the generation, execution, error handling, and data analysis of first-principles and molecular dynamics simulations.

Postdoctoral Researcher | University of Oslo, Norway | 2017 – 2019

Utilized first and second principles calculations to predict the finite-temperature properties of alloys and composite materials, focusing on solid-state phase transitions and shape-memory alloys.

Postdoctoral Researcher | University of Liege, Belgium | 2015 – 2017

Determined the relationship between the physical, dielectric, and vibrational properties of 2D and 3D materials using first-principles modeling.

Contributed to the development of the first-principles code ABINIT, specifically for analyzing Raman spectra and calculating nonlinear optical properties.

Center of Emergent Materials Fellow | The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH | 2011 – 2014

Completed doctoral research on coupled excitations, two-dimensional systems, and transport properties in insulating materials.

Education Ph.D. in Physics | The Ohio State University | 2015 Dissertation: “Energy Dispersion, Magnetism, and Transport in Three Condensed Matter Systems”

M.S. in Physics | The Ohio State University | 2012 Thesis: “Density Functional Theory for Electrons”

B.S. in Physics, Minor in Mathematics | Grand Valley State University | 2008 Thesis: “Hidden Parameter Theory in Quantum Mechanics”

Publications A full list is available on Google Scholar.

Technical Skills Programming: Python, FORTRAN, BASH, C++, HTML, CSS, JavaScript

First-Principles Software: ABINIT, VASP, TDEP, Phonopy

Molecular Dynamics Software: LAMMPS, DL_POLY, DL_FIELD

Numerical & General Software: Mathematica, MATLAB, Git, LaTeX, VESTA

Professional Memberships American Physical Society (APS)

Materials Research Society (MRS)