The primary mission of the NAPOLITANO GROUP for Alloy Solidification & Physical Metallurgy is to investigate the dynamic processes of crystal growth and morphological evolution during solidification and other transformations in metallic alloys to:

1. •    understand the behavior of crystal-melt interfaces and the role of defects at the growth front,
   

   1. •    measure critical bulk and and interfacial properties,
      

      1. •    predict phase selection under conditions of rapid solidification or high undercooling,
         

         1. •   discover new pathways to non-equilibrium materials with novel structures and unusual properties,
            

         2. •   control microstructural features and defects through solidification processing,
            

         3. •   create new solidification processes and alloys,
            

         4. •   open new applications and markets for solidification processing, and
            

         5. •   develop new predictive tools and techniques to model transformation kinetics.
            

         In the pursuit of these goals, the group is engaged in a variety of experimental and computational research efforts in areas of alloy thermodynamics, interfacial behavior, heat and mass transport, nucleation and growth kinetics, microstructure, and associated properties.