Biography

Dustin A. Gilbert is an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a faculty member of the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing. He received his BS in Physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2008, and his PhD in Physics from the University of California, Davis in 2014, where his dissertation, “Physics on the Nanoscale – a Study of Nanomagnetic Phenomena,” examined emergent behaviors in magnetic nanostructures. Following his doctorate, he was awarded a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, working at the NIST Center for Neutron Research to develop neutron scattering methods for studying nanoscale magnetism.

Gilbert’s research focuses on functional materials and nanotechnology, with an emphasis on magnetism and its coupling to ionic, structural, and electronic degrees of freedom. His group investigates nanoscale magnetic phenomena in thin films, heterostructures, and composite systems, combining neutron and synchrotron X-ray scattering with advanced magnetometry and microscopy to reveal and control emergent magnetic states. Current efforts center on chiral spin textures such as skyrmions, high entropy materials, magneto-ionic control of magnetism, and interfacial phenomena in magnetic heterostructures.

His research is primarily supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, with previous projects also funded by the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature Nanotechnology, Science Advances, Advanced Materials, and Physical Review B, and is active in professional service with the American Physical Society and the IEEE Nanotechnology Council.

Education

• PhD, University of California, Davis

Professional Service

• Chair, IEEE Nanotechnology Council Technical Committee on Nanomagnetism
• Advisory Committee Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference
• Organizer, APS Global Physics Summit, IEEE Nano
• Refereed over 120 articles in Nature, Science, and Advanced Materials, among others
• Faculty Advisor, UT chapter of Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

Awards & Recognitions

• 2025 Knoxville News-Sentinel, 40 Under 40
• 2024 Neutron Scattering Society of America “Science Prize”
• 2020 Department of Energy Early Career Award, titled “Exotic Uses of Neutrons an X-rays as Probes for Chiral Magnets”
• 2014-2016 IOP Publishing “Nanotechnology Young Researchers Award” 2016 National Research Council Research Associateship Program Postdoctoral Fellowship

Research Publications

1. WLNC Liyanage, Nan Tang, Rebecca L. Dally, Lizabeth J. Quigley, Guo-Jiun Shu, Fang-Cheng Chou, Nicholas P. Butch, Marcus Bleuel, Julie A. Borchers, Kathryn Krycka, Cristian D. Batista, Lisa Debeer-Schmitt, Dustin A. Gilbert “Skyrmion lattice formation and destruction mechanisms probed with TR-SANS ” Nanoscale 16, 10715 (2024).
2. Nan Tang, Sergio Montoya, W.L.N.C. Liyanage, Sheena Patel, Lizabeth J. Quigley, Alexander J. Grutter, Michael R. Fitzsimmons, Sunil Sinha, Julie A. Borchers, Eric Fullerton, Lisa Debeer-Schmitt, Dustin A. Gilbert “Skyrmion-Excited Spin-Wave Fractal Networks” Advanced Materials 2300416 (2023).
3. WLNC Liyanage, Nan Tang, Sergio Montoya, Lizabeth Quigley, Julie A. Borchers, Alexander J. Grutter, Sunil K. Sinha, Brian B. Maranville, Eric E. Fullerton, Lisa Debeer-Schmitt, Dustin A. Gilbert “Depth Profiles of Hybrid Magnetic Skyrmions Determined by Neutron Scattering” Phys. Rev. B 107, 184412 (2023).
4. Anne Murray, Daniel Bryan, David Garfinkel, Cameron Jorgensen, Nan Tang, WLNC Liyanage, Eric Lass, Ying Yang, Philip Rack, Thomas Denes, Dustin Gilbert “Anti-microbial properties of a multi-component alloy” Scientific Reports 12, 21427 (2022).
5. Nan Tang, Lizabeth Quigley, Walker Boldman, Cameron Jorgensen, Rémi Koch, Daniel O’Leary, Hugh Medal, Philip Rack, Dustin A. Gilbert “Magnetism in metastable and annealed compositionally complex alloys” Physical Review Materials 5, 114405 (2021).