Biography

Veerle Keppens earned her bachelor’s degree (1989) and PhD (1995) in Physics from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). Her dissertation research included the study of the anomalous properties of disordered solids at low temperatures. From 1995 to 1998, Keppens was a Fulbright fellow in the novel materials group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she became interested in the elastic properties of new materials. In 1998, she received a Humboldt-fellowship to do research at the Institut fuer angewandte Physik in Heidelberg. In 1999, Keppens joined the faculty in the Physics Department at the University of Mississippi. There she taught courses in introductory physics and modern physics, and set-up a laboratory for Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy. In 2003, she joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee, where she continues to study the elastic properties and lattice dynamics of novel materials. Keppens has authored or co-authored over 50 technical papers and has contributed to over 70 (15 invited) technical presentations at national and international conferences.

Education

• BS, K.U. Leuven (Belgium), 1989
• PhD, K.U. Leuven (Belgium), 1995
  Materials Physics and Physical Acoustics; elastic properties and lattice dynamics of novel materials

Professional Service

• APS Member
• ASA Member
• ASM Member

Awards & Recognitions

• 2017 UT Angie Warren Perkins Award
• 2011 Fellow, Acoustical Society of America
• 2011 Faculty award for excellence in research, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
• 2009 College of Engineering Research Fellow
• 2009 Outstanding service award, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
• 2007 University of Tennessee Chancellor’s award for professional promise in research and creative achievement
• 2005 University of Tennessee Dept. Materials Science and Engineering Outstanding Young Faculty Researcher Award
• 1998 Alexander von Humboldt fellowship
• 1995-1996 Fulbright-Hays fellowship

Research Publications

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

1. 1. Unveiling Swift Heavy Ion Track Morphology in Sr-Based High-Entropy Perovskites, Ashish Kumar Gupta, Eva Zarkadoula, Brianna L. Musico, Jordan A. Hachtel, Manuel A. Roldan, Vikas Reddy Paduri, Colby Harris, Ramji Subedi, Maxim Ziatdinov, Sergei V. Kalinin, Christina Trautmann, Veerle Keppens, Jie Liu, Yanwen Zhang, William J. Weber, and Ritesh Sachan, ACS Nano 20, 6632 (2026).
   2. Decoding the role of short-range structural order on magnetic and luminescent properties in entropy-enriched yttrium iron garnets, Rubayet Tanveer, Dylan Windsor, Cale Overstreet, Tatenda Kanyowa, Bin Hu, Maik K. Lang, Haixuan Xu, Veerle Keppens, and William J. Weber, Acta Materialia 306, 121927 (2026).
   3. Influence of Compositional Complexity on Amorphization Resistance of Swift Heavy Ion Irradiated Titanate Pyrochlores, George Adamson, John Michael Hirtz, Cale Overstreet, Eric O’Quinn, Candice Kinsler-Fedon, Pascal Simon, Changyong Park, Xing Wang, Tao Liang, Haixuan Xu, Veerle Keppens, Katharine Page, and Maik Lang, Inorgnic chemistry 65, 280 (2025).
   4. Temperature dependence of irradiation-induced amorphization in a high-entropy titanate pyrochlore, William J. Weber, Candice Kinsler-Fedon, Veerle Keppens, Yanwen Zhang, and Anamul H. Mir, MRS Communications 14, 1364 (2024).
   5. Magnetic structure and properties of the compositionally complex perovskite (Y0.2La0.2Pr0.2Nd0.2Tb0.2)MnO3, Nathan D. Arndt, Brianna L. Music., Kausturi Parui, Keon Sahebkar, Qiang Zhang, Alessandro R. Mazza, Megan M. Butala, Veerle Keppens, T. Zac Ward, and Ryan F. Need, Journal of Materials C 12, 13474 (2024).
   6. Synthesis and properties of rare-earth high-entropy perovskite, Rubayet Tanveer, Dylan Windsor, Sean Drewry, Katherine Page, Haixuan Xu, Veerle Keppens, and William J. Weber, Applied Physics Letters 124, 124101 (2024).
   7. Design and development of high entropy materials, An-Chou Yeh, St.phane Gorsse, Veerle Keppens, and Dustin A. Gilbert, APL Materials 11, 030402 (2023).
   8. Variance induced decoupling of spin, lattice, and charge ordering in perovskite nickelates, Alessandro R. Mazza, Shree Ram Acharya, Patryk Wąsik, Jason Lapano, Jiemin Li, Brianna L. Musico, Veerle Keppens, Christopher T. Nelson, Andrew F. May, Matthew Brahlek, Claudio Mazzoli, Jonathan Pelliciari, Valentina Bisogni, Valentino R. Cooper, and T. Zac Ward, Physical Review Research 5, 013008 (2023).
   9. Local cation order and ferrimagnetism in compositionally complex spinel ferrites, Xin Wang, Brianna L. Music., Corisa Kons, Peter C. Metz, Veerle Keppens, Dustin A. Gilbert, Yuanpeng Zhang, and Katharine Page, APL Materials 10, 121102 (2022).
   10. What is in a name: Defining “high entropy” oxides, Matthew Brahlek, Maria Gazda, Veerle Keppens, Alessandro R. Mazza, Scott J. McCormack, Aleksandra Mielewczyk- Gryn, Brianna L. Musico, Katharine Page, Christina M. Rost, Susan B. Sinnott, Cormac Toher, T. Zac Ward, and Ayako Yamamoto, APL Materials 10, 110902 (2022).