Professor Dr. Nasim Alem

Biography

Nasim Alem received her B.S. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, followed by an M.S. degree in Materials Science Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science Engineering from Northwestern University in 2008. She worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Physics Department at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the National Center for Electron Microscopy at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab before joining Penn State as an assistant professor in 2013. Alem’s doctoral research focused on nanoscale mechanics and the deformation behavior of confined interphases in multilayered metal-ceramic systems. During her postdoctoral research, she investigated the atomic structure and defects in two-dimensional crystals, employing ultra-high resolution aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Her work at Penn State involves understanding the structural dynamics and electronic properties of crystals, and she leads research on the evolution of defects, edges, and grain boundaries under various conditions. Her projects focus on tailoring materials properties for applications in energy catalysis and enhancing the performance of nano-engineered functional devices.

Research Interests

Experience