Laura H. Lewis
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor,
Chemical Engineering
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor,
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Center Member,
Cross-College Magnetics Center
Contact
- lhlewis@northeastern.edu
- 360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Office
- 447 Snell Engineering Center
- 617.373.3419
Lab
- 476 SN & 478 SN
- 617.373.7916
Research Focus
Structure-property relationships in magnetofunctional materials for energy transformations including advanced permanent magnet materials and magnetocaloric materials; strategic materials and supply chains for technological application
About
Joined the Chemical Engineering Department in Spring 2007.
Laura H. Lewis is the Distinguished University and Cabot Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University. She was previously a research group leader and Associate Department Chair in the Nanoscience Department of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). fabricate and study nanoscale materials. Laura’s research focuses on investigating the materials factors at the atomic level that provide functionality to magnetic and electronic materials. Emphasis is on strategic and technologically relevant systems that impact sustainability and critical materials supply chains including nanomaterials, amorphous materials and magnets. Potential applications include energy transformations in thermal, electromechanical and biomedical systems including motors, generators, magnetocaloric cooling and biosensors. Laura serves on a number of advisory panels, including for the Critical Materials Institute (a DOE Energy Innovation Hub) and is a member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to develop supply chain and sustainability standards to ISO TC298 (Rare Earths) and ISO TC333 (Lithium), American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Education
- B.A. (Physics with Specialization in Earth Sciences) University of California, San Diego, 1985
- M.S. (Electronic Materials) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988
- Ph.D. (Materials Science and Engineering) University of Texas at Austin, 1993
Honors & Awards
- Fulbright Scholar (2018, 2019)
- Fellow, American Physical Society
- Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- Northeastern University Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award
- Chair, Technical Committee of the IEEE Magnetics Society (2017-2019)
- Conference Editor, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics (2008-2018)
- NATO Technical Team Member of AVT-231 on “Scarcity of Rare Earth Materials for Electrical Power Systems”
- US Technical Advisory Group to ISO TC298, Rare Earth
- International Advisory Committee of the Joint European Magnetics Symposia (JEMS)
Research Overview
Structure-property relationships in magnetofunctional materials for energy transformations including advanced permanent magnet materials and magnetocaloric materials; strategic materials and supply chains for technological application
Selected Research Projects
- Designing Strong Stability in Non-Critical and Rare-Earth-Lean Magnetic Materials
- – Principal Investigator, Department of Energy
- Multi-Driver Furnace Processing of Magneto-Functional Materials
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Lattice-Defective Copper Oxides as a Biocidal Tool for COVID-19 and Beyond
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation RAPID
- Sprayable Biocidal Coatings for Tactical Shelters
- – Co-Principal Investigator, Department of the Army
- Thermal Management Investigations Into Device-Level Thermal Management with PCMs
- – Co-Principal Investigator, Raytheon Corporation and ONR
Selected Publications
- Lejeune, B. T., R. Barua, E. Simsek, R. W. McCallum, R. T. Ott, M. J. Kramer, and L. H. Lewis. (2021). Towards Additive Manufacturing of Magnetocaloric Working Materials. Materialia, 16, 101071
- Maât, N., McDonald, I., Barua, R., Lejeune, B., Zhang, X., Stephen, G.M., Fisher, A., Heiman, D., Soldatov, I.V., Schäfer, R., Lewis, L.H. (2020). Creating, probing and confirming tetragonality in bulk FeNi alloys. Acta Materialia, 196,776-789. 10.1016/J.ACTAMAT.2020.07.019
- Adib, Aswad, Khurram K. Afridi, Mahshid Amirabadi, Fariba Fateh, Mehdi Ferdowsi, Brad Lehman, Laura H. Lewis et al. (2019). E-mobility—Advancements and challenges. IEEE Access, 7, 165226-165240
- Jamer, Michelle E., Yung Jui Wang, Gregory M. Stephen, Ian J. McDonald, Alexander J. Grutter, George E. Sterbinsky, Dario A. Arena et al. (2017). Compensated Ferrimagnetism in the Zero-Moment Heusler Alloy Mn 3 Al. Physical Review Applied, 7(6), 064036
- Lewis, Laura H., A. Mubarok, E. Poirier, Nina Bordeaux, P. Manchanda, A. Kashyap, Ralph Skomski et al. (2014). Inspired by Nature: Investigating Tetrataenite for Permanent Magnet Applications. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 26(6), 064213
- Plouffe, Brian D., Shashi K. Murthy, and Laura H. Lewis. (2014). Fundamentals and Application of Magnetic Particles in Cell Isolation and Enrichment: A Review. Reports on Progress in Physics, 78(1), 016601
- Lewis, Laura H., and Félix Jiménez-Villacorta. (2013). Perspectives on Permanent Magnetic Materials for Energy Conversion and Power Generation. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions, A44, 1, 2-20
Jul 08, 2025
Patent for Magnetic Microwires in Medical Treatments
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor Laura Lewis, ChE/MIE, and ChE Associate Professor Abigail Koppes were awarded a patent for “Magnetic microwires for energy-transporting biomedical applications.”
May 19, 2025
How To Build Strong Magnets Without Rare-Earth Metals
Laura Lewis, university distinguished and Cabot professor of ChE and MIE, was featured in the Economist article “How To Build Strong Magnets Without Rare-Earth Metals.”
May 19, 2025
Ukraine-US Minerals Deal: Here’s What’s Agreed
Laura Lewis, university distinguished and Cabot professor of ChE and MIE, was featured in the Newsweek article “Ukraine-US Minerals Deal: Here’s What’s Agreed.”
May 12, 2025
Northeastern’s Boston Campus Hosts Inaugural Magnetics Workshop
The Inaugural NU Cross-College Magnetics Center Workshop, hosted at Northeastern’s Boston campus on May 7, 2025, brought together dozens of participants from the university’s Boston, Burlington, and Portland campuses.
Feb 25, 2025
Are There Rare Earth Minerals in Ukraine?
Laura Lewis, university distinguished and Cabot professor of ChE and MIE, who studies critical minerals and their applications, discusses a deal that would give the U.S. a share of Ukraine’s critical raw minerals.
Dec 07, 2023
2023 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above.
Oct 12, 2023
PhD Spotlight: Xiaoyu “Criss” Zhang, PhD’23, Mechanical Engineering
Xiaoyu “Criss” Zhang, PhD’23, mechanical engineering, focused research to understand and tailor magnetofunctional materials. He applied novel materials processing approaches to alter local atomic environments and structures at scales from Ångstrom-level to microscale to tailor magnetofunctionality. Zhang contributed to 14 peer-reviewed journal publications, including nine published contributions, with three as first-author, and five manuscripts in preparation. He continued as a postdoctoral researcher.
Aug 07, 2023
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU Pathways) Completes 10-Week Boston Program
MIE Professor Ibrahim Zeid and STEM Executive Director Claire Duggan led a 10-week NSF-funded REU program called “REU Pathways,” which mentors community college students in engineering research.
Nov 28, 2022
Lewis Elevated to IEEE Fellow
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor Laura Lewis, ChE/MIE, was elevated to an IEEE Fellow for contributions to the design of magneto-functional materials.
Nov 02, 2022
2022 Stanford University Annual Assessment of Author Citations
A group of COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2% of the most-cited scientists with single-year impact in various disciplines. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above.