Research Interests
Artificial Intelligence Materials Science; Autonomous Materials Design; Computational materials science; High-Entropy Disordered Systems; Materials for Energy Applications; Materials for Aerospace Applications. Prof. Curtarolo multidisciplinary research makes use of state-of-the-art techniques from fields like materials science, chemistry, physics, quantum mechanics, mathematics and computer science.
Bio
RESEARCH FIELDS
- Artificial Intelligence Materials Science
- Autonomous Materials Design
- Computational Materials Science
- High-Entropy Disordered and Amorphous Systems
- Materials for Energy Applications
- Materials for Aerospace Applications
- Materials for Deep Space Exploration
The research is multidisciplinary and makes use of state of the art techniques from fields like materials science, chemistry, physics, quantum mechanics, mathematics and computer science.
Education
- M.S. University of Padua (Italy), 1995
- M.S. University of Padua (Italy), 1998
- M.S. Pennsylvania State University, 1999
- Sc.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003
Positions
- Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Director of the Center for Extreme Materials
- Professor in the Department of Physics
- Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- High Performance, Computing Modernization Program Flagship Award. DOD-HPC. 2021
- Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher. Clarivate Analytics. 2021
- Distinguished Visiting Professorship. Max-Plank Society, Fritz-Haber Instittue, Berlin. 2018
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award. Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation. 2016
- DOD-MURI Award, The Science of Entropy Stabilized Ultra-High Temperature Materials. Duke University, NCSU, UCSD, UVA. 2015
- Fellow. American Physical Society. 2013
- Stansell Distinguished Research Award. Duke University. 2013
- DOD-MURI Award, Topological decompositions and spectral sampling algorithms for elements substitution in critical technologies. Duke University, UMD, UNT, CMU, BYU. 2013
- NSF Early CAREER Award. National Science Foundation. 2008
- ONR Young Investigator Program Award. Office of Naval Research. 2008
- Best Paper Award. CALPHAD (Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry). 2008
- MRS Silver Medal Graduate Student Award. Materials Research Society. 2008
- Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2007
- Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. President of the United States of America. 2007
Courses Taught
- PHYSICS 791: Special Readings
- ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
- ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
- EGR 95FS: First Year seminar in Focus
- EGR 101L: Engineering Design and Communication
In the News
- Materials Scientist Stefano Curtarolo Elected to the European Academy of Sciences (Aug 13, 2024 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Computational Method Discovers New Materials for Extreme Environments (Jan 11, 2024 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Which Duke Scholars Made the Most Cited List? (Nov 16, 2023 | Duke Research Blog)
- Heat-Proof Chaotic Carbides Could Revolutionize Aerospace Technology (Oct 17, 2022 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Duke Awards 22 Distinguished Professorships (Jun 28, 2021)
- Strengthened by Chaos, New Super-Hard Materials Will Stir Steel Together (Feb 25, 2021 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Can artificial intelligence create the next wonder material? (May 5, 2016 | Nature)
- A Made-to-Order Materials Menu (Nov 17, 2014 | Duke Research Blog)
- How Supercomputers Will Yield a Golden Age of Materials Science (Dec 1, 2013 | Scientific American)
Representative Publications
- Divilov, S., H. Eckert, N. Hotz, X. Campilongo, and S. Curtarolo. “Disorder viscosity correction approach to calculate spinodal temperature and wavelength (Accepted).” Acta Materialia 308 (April 15, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2026.121983.
- Roberts, J., B. Rijal, S. Divilov, J. P. Maria, W. G. Fahrenholtz, D. E. Wolfe, D. W. Brenner, S. Curtarolo, and E. Zurek. “A software package for generating robust and accurate potentials using the moment tensor potential framework.” Computer Physics Communications 320 (March 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2025.110002.
- Ha, M. Q., D. K. Le, V. C. Nguyen, H. Kino, S. Curtarolo, and H. C. Dam. “Beyond interpolation: integration of data and AI-extracted knowledge for high-entropy alloy discovery.” Digital Discovery 5, no. 3 (March 1, 2026): 1079–97. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5dd00400d.
- Hossain, M. D., N. S. McIlwaine, N. O. Marquez-Rios, A. C. Feltrin, V. Chawla, R. A. Mayanovic, W. G. Fahrenholtz, et al. “Superhard refractory high-entropy diborides.” Physical Review Materials 10, no. 3 (March 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1103/hqlp-dcvl.
- Campanaro, S., L. Bursi, S. Curtarolo, and A. Calzolari. “Terahertz Volume Plasmon-Polariton Modulation in All-Dielectric Hyperbolic Metamaterials.” Advanced Optical Materials 14, no. 7 (February 16, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202502680.