Donald Brenner
Department Head and Kobe Distinguished Professor
- Phone: 919-515-0493
- Email: brenner@ncsu.edu
- Office: Engineering Building I (EB1) 3028D
- Website: http://www.mse.ncsu.edu/research/brenner
Prof. Donald Brenner received his B.S. from the State University of New York in 1982 and his Ph.D. from Penn. State University in 1987, both in Chemistry. He then joined the research staff of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory as a member of the Theoretical Chemistry Section. In 1994 Brenner joined the faculty at NC State, where he is currently a Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor and Department Head in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Research Interests
His research focuses on the development and use of atomic, multi-scale, and statistical modeling methods for the virtual design, development, and characterization of advanced materials.
Education
| Degree | Program | School | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Doctorate of Philosophy in Chemistry | Penn. State University | 1987 |
| BS.Chem | Bachelors of Science in Chemistry | State University of New York | 1982 |
Awards and Honors
2016 | Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence
2013 | Alcoa Foundation Distinguished Engineering Achievement Award
2002 | Feynman Prize for advances in nanotechnology
Publications
- A software package for generating robust and accurate potentials using the moment tensor potential framework
- Roberts, J., Rijal, B., Divilov, S., Maria, J.-P., Fahrenholtz, W. G., Wolfe, D. E., … zurek, eva. (2026), Mendeley Data. https://doi.org/10.17632/tw56p2s7rr
- A software package for generating robust and accurate potentials using the moment tensor potential framework
- Roberts, J., Rijal, B., Divilov, S., Maria, J.-P., Fahrenholtz, W. G., Wolfe, D. E., … zurek, eva. (2026), Mendeley Data. https://doi.org/10.17632/tw56p2s7rr.1
- Superhard refractory high-entropy diborides
- Hossain, M. D., McIlwaine, N. S., Marquez-Rios, N. O., Feltrin, A. C., Chawla, V., Mayanovic, R. A., … Maria, J.-P. (2026, January 2), Physical Review Materials. https://doi.org/10.1103/hqlp-dcvl
- A software package for generating robust and accurate potentials using the moment tensor potential framework
- Roberts, J., Rijal, B., Divilov, S., Maria, J.-P., Fahrenholtz, W. G., Wolfe, D. E., … Zurek, E. (2025, December 18), Computer Physics Communications. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2025.110002
- Interfacial defect properties of high-entropy carbides: Stacking faults, Shockley partial dislocations, and a new Evans-Polanyi-Semenov relation
- Daigle, S. E., Curtarolo, S., Fahrenholtz, W. G., Maria, J.-P., Wolfe, D. E., Zurek, E., & Brenner, D. W. (2025, May 5), Physical Review Materials, Vol. 9. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.9.053601
- A priori procedure to establish spinodal decomposition in alloys
- Divilov, S., Eckert, H., Toher, C., Friedrich, R., Zettel, A. C., Brenner, D. W., … Curtarolo, S. (2024, January 9), Acta Materialia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2024.119667
- A super‐hard high entropy boride containing Hf, Mo, Ti, V, and W
- Filipovic, S., Obradovic, N., Hilmas, G. E., Fahrenholtz, W. G., Brenner, D. W., Maria, J. P., … Curtarolo, S. (2024, March 23), Journal of the American Ceramic Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.19795
- Bipolar HiPIMS kick‐pulse for high hardness in high‐entropy boride thin films
- McIlwaine, N. S., Rios, N. O. M., Zurek, E., Brenner, D. W., Fahrenholtz, W. G., Curtarolo, S., … Maria, J. P. (2024, November 22), Journal of the American Ceramic Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.20257
- Disordered enthalpy–entropy descriptor for high-entropy ceramics discovery
- Divilov, S., Eckert, H., Hicks, D., Oses, C., Toher, C., Friedrich, R., … Curtarolo, S. (2024, January 3), Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06786-y
- Machine learned interatomic potentials for ternary carbides trained on the AFLOW database
- Roberts, J., Rijal, B., Divilov, S., Maria, J.-P., Fahrenholtz, W. G., Wolfe, D. E., … Zurek, E. (2024, July 2), Npj Computational Materials. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-024-01321-7
