Christian Mailhiot

Biography

Prior to joining Sandia in 2016, I held the position of professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington State University (WSU) during the period 2013 – 2016. At WSU, I was Director of the Center for Institutional Research Computing (CIRC), and founder and Administrative Director for the state-funded Joint Center for Deployment and Research in Earth-Abundant Materials (JCDREAM). During the period 1989 – 2013, I held several senior leadership positions at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). At LLNL, I was responsible for the leadership of several materials science line organizations and for the development and management of large-scale and multi-disciplinary programs and initiatives related to experimental, theoretical, and computational, condensed matter physics and materials science in support of LLNL’s mission needs in global security, energy and environment, and fundamental science. I also held senior leadership positions at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC, in support of NNSA and the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES). From 1983 through 1989, I was a member of the technical staff at the Xerox Webster Research Center in Webster, NY, where I worked in the fields of semiconductor and solid-state physics. 

Education

• Ph.D., Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology – Thesis Title: Theoretical Investigations of Electron States in Small-Scale Semiconductor Structures – Advisor: Professor T. C. McGill (1983)
• M.S., Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology (1980)
• B. Eng., Engineering Physics, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Québec, Canada (1978)

Research Interests

Theoretical and high-performance computational condensed matter physics, ab initio many-body calculations of materials, computational nanoscience, atomic and electronic structure of materials, electronic structure theory and optical properties of semiconductor superlattices and synthetically modulated quantum-confined structures, semiconductor physics, surface and interface science, static and dynamic compression science, pressure-induced structural phase transformations, ab initio and quantum molecular dynamics, quantum many-body simulations of materials.

Professional Organizations & Leadership

• Fellow, American Physical Society, Division of Materials Physics (2003 —)
• Member, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) Scientific Advisory Committee (2010 —)
• Member, High-Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HPCAT) Executive Committee (2013 –)
• Member, National Academies Panel on Materials Science and Engineering at the Army Research Laboratory (2013 –)
• Member, Board of Visitor (BOV), Army Research Office, Physics Division (2014 –)
• Leader, Panel on Electronic Materials and Devices, National Academies Panel on Materials Science and Engineering at the Army Research Laboratory (2013 – )

Awards

Over 100 publications in the fields of theoretical and computational condensed matter physics, ab initio many-body calculations of materials, atomic and electronic structure of materials, electronic structure theory and optical properties of semiconductor superlattices and quantum-confined structures, semiconductor physics, surface and interface science, static and dynamic pressure-induced phase transformations

Publications