Graduate Students
Begley
Research: Creating ICME Tools
Begley graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BS in MSE in 2018. He originally went to NC State for graduate school, but was liberated from his previous research group by the MONSTER group when they moved to UF, and graduated with his PhD from UF after a very long time in 2025. Begley researched microstructural evolution in thermomechanical titanium processing and during laser forming of sheet metals. By the time he was finally the only Ben in the research group, it was too late; he’d largely forgotten that Ben is his name, and instead answers to Begley.
Links: LinkedIn, ORCID, GitHub, Google Scholar
Project(s): CERBERUS, PIRATES, DRAGON, VAMPYR, NINJA, ARACHNE, PHOENIX
Dissertation: ”An Integrated Computational Materials Engineering Approach to Predicting Local Texture Evolution in Two-Phase Titanium Alloys“
Ben
Research: Twinning in Magnesium
Ben Anthony graduated from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering in the fall of 2014. He then ventured down to the University of Florida for his PhD in MSE. Ben spent his time working with magnesium alloys while holding an interest in thermomechanical processing and defense applications for materials. Ben was awarded the DoD NDSEG fellowship in 2019.
Links: ORCID
Dissertation: “Quantifying the Role of Coarse Intermetallic Particles on Twinning Behavior in Magnesium Alloys“
Sarah
Research: Nuclear Fuels
Sarah is from Chicago, Illinois, where she did her bachelors in mechanical engineering and her masters in materials science and engineering. She is a nuclear fuels research engineer at the Idaho National Lab and went back to school for her PhD to work more in future clean energy solutions.
Dissertation: “Materials and Manufacturing Study of Uranium Mononitride/Zirconium Carbide Cercer Composites for Use in Space Nuclear Propulsion“
Justin
Research: Liquid Metal Embrittlement
Justin graduated from North Carolina State University with a BS in MSE in 2014. Following a short stint in industry, he returned to NC State for graduate school in 2017 before being extradited to Florida in 2019. Justin’s academic interests include liquid metal embrittlement, corrosion, dungeoneering, stress corrosion cracking, extractive metallurgy, physical metallurgy, necromancy, chemical metallurgy, applied stencillurgy, and most other words ending in ‘-urgy’. Not a lich.
Links: LinkedIn, ORCID, Google Scholar
Project: DEMILICH
Dissertation: “On the Multiplicity of Mechanisms of Liquid Metal Embrittlement“
