Tim Rupert

About

Tim Rupert is a professor of materials science and engineering and the director of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI) at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on nanostructured materials and defect engineering, with the goal of leveraging materials to enable new structural and energy technologies. He aims to increase the reliability and lifetime of materials by discovering new structure-property relationships in advanced nanomaterials. His current research includes nanocrystalline metals and alloys, thin film materials, and the study of interfaces and defect phases at the atomic level. Using a combination of computational and experimental techniques, he works to optimize materials for extreme environments, with applications in nuclear energy and defense.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Metallurgy
• Condensed matter physics
• Crystallography
• Composite material

Selected publications

• Grain Boundary Complexion Transitions

  Annual Review of Materials Research · 2020-04-21 · 179 citations

  article

  Grain boundaries can undergo phase-like transitions, called complexion transitions, in which their structure, composition, and properties change discontinuously as temperature, bulk composition, and other parameters are varied. Grain boundary complexion transitions can lead to rapid changes in the macroscopic properties of polycrystalline metals and ceramics and are responsible for a variety of materials phenomena as diverse as activated sintering and liquid-metal embrittlement. The property cha…

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• Strong and ductile refractory high-entropy alloys with super formability

  Acta Materialia · 2022-12-08 · 119 citations

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• A machine learning framework for the prediction of grain boundary segregation in chemically complex environments

  Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering · 2024-06-14 · 7 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract The discovery of complex concentrated alloys (CCA) has unveiled materials with diverse atomic environments, prompting the exploration of solute segregation beyond dilute alloys. However, the vast number of possible elemental interactions means a computationally prohibitive number of simulations are needed for comprehensive segregation energy spectrum analysis. Data-driven methods offer promising solutions for overcoming such limitations for modeling segregation in such chemically comple…

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• Composition-driven nanotwin engineering in sputtered Ni-Fe and Ni-Cr films: linking fault energetics to twin thickness

  Acta Materialia · 2026-01-06 · 3 citations

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• Bulk nanocrystalline Al–Mg–Y alloys with amorphous grain boundary complexions display high strength and compressive plasticity

  Journal of Materials Science · 2025-08-21 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
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Recent grants

• CAREER: Nanocrystalline Grain Boundary Network Engineering Enabled by New Deformation Mechanisms

  NSF · $537k · 2013–2019

• Predicting Changes in Structure and Properties During Wear in Metallic Systems

  NSF · $345k · 2015–2018

• BRIGE: Interfacial Defects and the Failure of Nanostructured Metals

  NSF · $175k · 2012–2014

Frequent coauthors

• Vladyslav Turlo

  Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

  53 shared

• Enrique J. Lavernia

  Texas A&M University

  46 shared

• Jennifer D. Schuler

  Sandia National Laboratories

  45 shared

• Julie M. Schoenung

  University of California, Irvine

  42 shared

• Zhiliang Pan

  40 shared

• Tianjiao Lei

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  39 shared

• Xin Wang

  University of California, Irvine

  38 shared

• Zhifeng Huang

  32 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  2011

• B.S./M.S., Mechanical Engineering

  Johns Hopkins University

  2007

Awards & honors

• 2025 Brimacombe Medalist by The Metals, Minerals, and Materi…

Similar researchers at Johns Hopkins University

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• Hai-Quan Maoh-86
• Kalina Hristovah-52