Biography

Jennifer Schuler received her BS in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2011 and her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 2019. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI).

Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, she served as a Teaching Assistant Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Lehigh University. She also held engineering positions at IBM, GlobalFoundries, Apple, and start-up Foundation Alloy, where her work focused on advanced metallic materials and manufacturing technologies.

Her research centers on the design, processing, and characterization of refractory and nanostructured alloys for extreme environments, with applications in nuclear energy, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

Education

• PhD, University of California, Irvine

Amorphous Intergranular Film Design Criteria and Application as Damage Tolerant Features in Nanocrystalline Alloys

Professional Service

• Member, The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS); ASM International; American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)

Awards & Recognitions

• 2026: Undergraduate Faculty Recognition Award, Lehigh University
• 2018: DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program

Research Publications

Select research publications are found below. A full list of publications is available on Google Scholar.

1. Schuler, J. D., & Rupert, T. J. (2017). Materials selection rules for amorphous complexion formation in binary metallic alloys. Acta Materialia, 140, 196-205.
2. Schuler, J. D., Donaldson, O. K., & Rupert, T. J. (2018). Amorphous complexions enable a new region of high temperature stability in nanocrystalline Ni-W. Scripta Materialia, 154, 49-53.
3. Schuler, J. D., Barr, C. M., Heckman, N. M., Copeland, G., Boyce, B. L., Hattar, K., & Rupert, T. J. (2019). In Situ High-Cycle Fatigue Reveals Importance of Grain Boundary Structure in Nanocrystalline Cu-Zr: Schuler, Barr, Heckman, Copeland, Boyce, Hattar, and Rupert. Jom, 71(4), 1221-1232.
4. Schuler, J. D., Grigorian, C. M., Barr, C. M., Boyce, B. L., Hattar, K., & Rupert, T. J. (2020). Amorphous intergranular films mitigate radiation damage in nanocrystalline Cu-Zr. Acta Materialia, 186, 341-354.