Areas of Research

• Nanocrystalline metals
• Ultrahigh temperature ceramics
• Fiber processing
• Thin films and coatings
• Analytical microscopy

Education

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, 2003
• M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, 1998
• B.S., Physics, Brigham Young University, 1996

Biography

Dr. Gregory B. Thompson joined the faculty in the department of metallurgical and materials engineering at The University of Alabama as an assistant professor in 2003.  He was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2008 and promoted to professor in 2012. In 2018, UA’s Board of Trustees recognized him as a University Distinguished Research Professor. He serves as the director for UA’s Central Analytical Facility and the materials science doctoral program. Thompson has received research funding from NSF, ARO, ARL, ONR, AFOSR, DOE, NASA and several industrial collaborators.

Thompson’s research involves understanding the interrelationship of material structure with respect to phase transformation pathways, phase stability, morphology, and physical properties. He is particularly keen on elucidating the influences of surfaces and interfaces in these relationships. His research contributions span a variety of topics that includes thermal and mechanical stability of nanocrystalline metals, phase formations and deformation mechanisms in ceramics, shape memory alloys, magnetic nanostructures, and the processing and synthesis science in thin films and fiber growth. As part of these research efforts, Thompson’s group utilizes advanced electron microscopy methods, including in situ thermal and mechanical testing techniques, as well as atom probe tomography.

For more details, please consult http://thompsonresearch.ua.edu/.

Publications:

• Tyler Kaub, Zhaoxia Rao, Eric Chason, and Gregory B. Thompson “The influence of deposition parameters on the stress evolution of sputter deposited copper” Surface & Coating Technology 357 (2019) 939-946. DOI: 1016/j.surfcoat.2018.10.059
• Chase J. Smith, Morgan A. Ross, Nicholas De Leon, Christopher R. Weinberger & Gregory B. Thompson “Ultra-high temperature deformation in TaC and HfC” Journal of the European Ceramic Society 38(16) (2018) 5319-5332. DOI: 1016/j.actamat.2017.11.038
• Monica Kapoor, Tyler Kaub, Kristopher A. Darling, Brad L. Boyce, and G.B. Thompson “An atom probe study on Nb solute partitioning and nanocrystalline grain stabilization in mechanically alloyed Cu-Nb” Acta Materialia 126 (2017) 564-575. DOI: 1016/j.actamat.2016.12.057
• Xuyang Zhou, Xiao-xiang Yu, Tyler Kaub, Richard L. Martens, and Gregory B. Thompson “Grain Boundary Specific Segregation in Nanocrystalline Fe(Cr)” Scientific Reports 6 (2016) 34642. DOI: 1038/srep34642
• Chad Hornbuckle, Ronald D. Noebe, and Gregory B. Thompson “Influence of Hf solute additions on the precipitation and hardenability in Ni-rich NiTi alloys” Journal of Alloys and Compounds 640 (2015) 449-454. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2015.04.002

Honors and Awards:

• 2018 University Distinguished Research Professor granted by the University of Alabama System
• 2018 UA College of Engineering T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership Award
• 2017 The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS) Brimacombe Medalist
• 2014 Blackmon-Moody Professor of the Year at The University of Alabama
• 2008 The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS)/ Japanese Institute of Metals (JIM) Young Leader International Scholar