Laura H. Lewis
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor,
Chemical Engineering
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor,
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
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
- 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
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
The following COE professors are among the top scientists worldwide selected by Stanford University representing the top 2 percent 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. The list below includes […]
Oct 07, 2022
Accelerating the Production of Tetratenite as Alternative to Rare-Earth Magnets
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor Laura Lewis, ChE/MIE, has developed a method to create tetratenite as an alternative to rare-earth magnets, which she was recently awarded a patent for.
Sep 07, 2021
ChE/MIE’s Lewis Awarded $2.1 M for Novel Magnetic Materials
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor Laura Lewis, ChE/MIE, is leading a $2.1M Department of Energy grant, in collaboration with the University of Delaware, the Northeastern University Physics department, and the University of Warwick, UK, for “Designing Strong Stability in Non-Critical and Rare-Earth-Lean Magnetic Materials.”
Aug 05, 2021
Manufacturing Efficient Magnetic Materials
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor Laura Lewis, ChE/MIE, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, UK, was awarded a $900K NSF grant for “Multi-Driver Furnace Processing of Magneto-Functional Materials.”
Apr 20, 2021
FY22 TIER 1 Award Recipients
Congratulations to the 17 COE faculty and affiliates who were recipients of FY22 TIER 1 Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grants for 11 different projects.
Sep 01, 2020
Creating, Probing and Confirming Tetragonality in Bulk FeNi Alloys
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor Laura Lewis, ChE/MIE, was published in Acta Materialia for research on “Creating, probing and confirming tetragonality in bulk FeNi alloys”.
Apr 24, 2020
Developing Materials to Incorporate into Coatings to Kill the COVID-19 Virus on Surfaces for Public Spaces
Distinguished University and Cabot Professor Laura Lewis, ChE/MIE, was awarded a $200K NSF RAPID grant for “Lattice-Defective Copper Oxides as a Biocidal Tool for COVID-19 and Beyond.”
Jun 25, 2019
Creating Rare Earth-Free Permanent Magnets
ChE/MIE Professor Laura Lewis was awarded a patent for developing a method to create “Rare earth-free permanent magnetic material”.
Jul 26, 2018
Developing Alternatives to Rare Earth Materials
ChE/MIE Professor Laura Lewis and ECE Professor Vincent Harris are working on alternatives to rare-earth metals which are used from everything from smartphones to guided missiles to reduce our reliance on China.