Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Trevor David Rhone, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, has been invited to participate as a Scialog fellow by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Scialog “supports research, intensive dialogue, and community building to address scientific challenges of global significance.” About 50 early career faculty are invited to participate as fellows for each Scialog.

Rhone searches for novel two-dimensional magnetic materials using a combination of computer simulations and artificial intelligence (AI). Some estimates put the number of possible candidate materials at 10 to the power of 100 – approximately the same as the number of atoms in the observable universe. Instead of relying on slow and laborious experiments to find a material with desirable properties, Rhone uses AI as a guide to accelerate materials discovery. 

Growing up in Jamaica, Rhone learned the importance of a good education. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Macalester College, then earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University for experimental studies of two-dimensional electron systems. He transitioned to materials informatics research while working at the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan and as a Future Faculty Leaders postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University before becoming an assistant professor at RPI.

Scialog “aims to support early career faculty to expand research in a focused area of high scientific importance; encourage scientists to form multidisciplinary teams to tackle these critical challenges; and help transition awardees to obtain further funding for their innovative ideas.”