Many of us seek to understand the
universe around us through philosophy, speculation, faith, even
superstition. But for Dr. Michelle
Johannes, a computational physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory Center for
Computational Materials Science , she’s using mathematics and theories.
So what ubiquitous question (or
questions) is she seeking to solve, and how could doing so help service
members?
So
glad you asked…
“So the goal of my research is to
understand what underlying physical or chemical properties determine the
performance of materials,” said Dr. Johannes.
“And I do that by using a computer to model the complex quantum
mechanical and classical mechanical equations that govern that material’s
properties.”
So
what does that mean, exactly?
“So in practice, what I do is I put all
of these equations into a computer for a specific material, and the materials I
study are useful for the Navy.”
Basically,
you’re using magnets, superconductors, structural materials and battery
electrodes.
“Right.
And I try to understand what properties of those materials make them
work better or worse, and then make changes that can improve them. And I use these methods to predict what would
be better materials or how to make materials work better.”
So
what is it like working at the Naval Research Laboratory?
“I work in a great branch with a bunch
of other computational scientists, and we routinely wander down the hall, ask
each other questions, and discuss each other’s research. It’s extremely collaborative. And even outside of my branch, I’ve found all
of the other members of NRL to be extremely willing to collaborate, share
results.”
Do
you have any liberties to explore different branches of research?
“There’s a lot of freedom to sort of
follow my own interests. If I think
something is interesting, I can pitch a program to our research board here and
then I can work on that. And people have
worked on all kinds of unusual things. I
used to work mainly on superconductivity.
I got an interest in battery materials, pitched a program. I’ve been allowed to work on it to my heart’s
content. And it’s really a great place
to work in that sense. There’s a lot of
scientific freedom, and there are smart people to work with.”
So
the people that you work with are really great
“In my field I get to meet computational
people. I’m used to writing papers,
mainly with other theorists or other computational people. But here at NRL, someone from a publication
actually came to interview people in the chemistry department about their battery
work. And through this guy, who knew
someone in my department, we met each other.”
So
do you collaborate with him on a regular basis, then?
“I work on a pretty regular basis with
the people in chemistry now, and I’m not even a chemist by background. But since we both have an interest in the
same materials, I’ve learned a lot from them and they’ve learned a lot from
me.”
Did
collaborating with them assist you in your work as well, then?
“In collaborating with them on battery
materials, I also started working on catalysts. And that was a completely new field for
me. But they had a lot of expertise over
there, so I got to learn a lot. And in
turn, I think that some of my calculations helped them to improve their
materials. So that’s the sort of thing
that goes on here [at NRL], I think, quite a lot.”
So
what are you hoping to achieve with your research here?
“Well, my end goal is really personally, for
me, understanding. I mean, I’m really
interested in science and understanding.
And I’ve always wondered, you know, how do things work, what are things
made of, these sort of basic scientific questions. So for me personally, that’s what I’m
after. I’d really like to understand the
physics that governs materials. If you
understand something, then you can manipulate it. But for me, the sort of intrinsic drive is to
understand.”
Well Dr. Johannes, with women like you
at the scientific wheel, I have no doubt that you will. And, just so we’re clear here, if you do
understand the process of teleportation, I totally call dibs on the fifth
successful test. You know, after you
send a few redshirts through the thing
first. Just to be safe.
———-
Dr. Michelle Johannes is a computational physicist at the Naval
Research Laboratory Center for Computational Materials Science . Information for this article provided by the
Naval Research Laboratory
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