Education
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Paul Ohodnicki
University of Pittsburgh
Profile
Dr. Ohodnicki received bachelor degrees in both Economics and Engineering Physics from the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his MS and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Dr. Ohodnicki’s most recent position was Materials Scientist and Technical Portfolio Lead of the Functional Materials Team at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Pittsburgh before joining the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh as an Associate Professor (2020). While at NETL, Dr. Ohodnicki received a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (2016) and was a finalist for the Service to America Promising Innovations Medal (2017). His research experience has spanned academia, industry, and the federal government.
Research
Prof. Paul Ohodnicki has a wide range of research interests spanning magnetic, optical, and electronic functional materials and their device level applications. He has a particular interest in the science and engineering of nanocomposite based materials with multiple phases intermixed at the nm-scale, for which the tailoring of chemistry, microstructure, and even atomic level defects can enable new properties that are not attainable in conventional materials. Such materials have been applied to a wide range of device level applications including both optical fiber and passive wireless sensors, as well as magnetic components for power applications including inductors, transformers, and rotating electrical machinery.
Prof. Ohodnicki embraces interdisciplinary research with a particular interest in challenging scientific topics that require expertise spanning the traditional disciplines of materials science, physics, and electrical engineering. In addition to his research interests, he also serves as the associate coordinator for the engineering science program which promotes an interdisciplinary science and engineering education uniquely tailored to solve such challenging problems.
Students
| Title | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Jun Young Hong | Graduate Student | JUH112@pitt.edu |
| Bo Liu | Postdoctoral Fellow | bol36@pitt.edu |
| Suraj Mullurkara | Graduate Student | sum84@pitt.edu |
| Nathan Rooney | Undergraduate Student | nathan.rooney19@gmail.com |
| Yang-Duan Su | Graduate Student | yas57@pitt.edu |
| Ahmed Talaat | Postdoctoral Fellow | aht17@pitt.edu |
Most Cited Publications
"Active Sites and Structure–Activity Relationships of Copper-Based Catalysts for Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation to Methanol." Sittichai Natesakhawat, Jonathan W Lekse, John P Baltrus, Paul R Ohodnicki Jr, Bret H Howard, Xingyi Deng, Christopher Matranga. ACS Catalysis.
"Size-dependent photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with PbS quantum dot sensitized TiO2 heterostructured photocatalysts." Congjun Wang, Robert L Thompson, Paul Ohodnicki, John Baltrus, Christopher Matranga. Journal of Materials Chemistry.
"Sensor devices comprising a metal-organic framework material and methods of making and using the same." Chih-Hung Chang, Ki-Joong Kim, Alan X Wang, Yujing Zhang, Xinyuan Chong, Paul R Ohodnicki. US Patent.
"Visible light plasmonic heating of Au–ZnO for the catalytic reduction of CO2." Congjun Wang, Oshadha Ranasingha, Sittichai Natesakhawat, Paul R Ohodnicki, Mark Andio, James P Lewis, Christopher Matranga. Nanoscale.
"Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Conversion Powered by Renewable Energy." Douglas R Kauffman, Jay Thakkar, Rajan Siva, Christopher Matranga, Paul R Ohodnicki, Chenjie Zeng, Rongchao Jin. ACS applied materials & interfaces.
Recent Publications
"Prediction of good glass forming ability in amorphous soft magnetic alloys by thermocalc simulation with experimental validation." Y Krimer, N Aronhime, P Ohodnicki, ME McHenry. Journal of Alloys and Compounds.
"Optical sensor employing a refractive index engineered metal oxide material." Peng Chen, Jacob Lorenzi Poole, Paul R Ohodnicki, Michael Paul Buric. US Patent.
"Microwave diagnostics and passive sensors for pipeline, well-bore, and boiler-tube monitoring." Paul Ohodnicki, Jagannath Devkota, David W Greve. US Patent.
"Nanostructured CuS Thin Film via a Spatial Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction Process Showing Significant Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption of CO2." Yujing Zhang, Xinyuan Chong, Hao Sun, Muaz Kedir, Ki-Joong Kim, Paul Ohodnicki, Alan Wang, Chih-hung Chang. Journal of Materials Chemistry C.
"Nanostructured sapphire optical fiber embedded with Au nanorods for high-temperature plasmonics in harsh environments." Kai Liu, Jeffrey Wuenschell, Subhabrata Bera, Renhong Tang, Paul R Ohodnicki, Henry Du. Optics Express.