Two new faculty members have joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering starting in the fall 2025 semester, bringing with them a range of expertise in various areas.

Weinan Xu

Assistant Professor

Xu joins the UT faculty from the University of Akron, where he was an assistant professor in the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering. Xu’s current research focuses on the development of sustainable/functional polymer composites and their advanced manufacturing, with applications in energy, electronics, and biomedicine. Xu obtained his PhD in materials science and engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and did postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University. He has been recognized with several awards, including the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the Polymer Processing Society Early Career Award, and the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Early Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society.

Matthew Cothrine

Assistant Teaching Professor

Cothrine received his PhD in materials science from UT in 2025. His dissertation research focused on synthesis and characterization of new electronic and magnetic materials, particularly the growth of low-dimensional magnets to be characterized via ultra-low (sub 1 K) temperature physical property measurements and neutron diffraction. He joins the faculty as a teaching professor in the MSE, where he teaches the junior-level laboratory courses among other classes.

“I am excited to join the MSE department to help pass on my skills and passion for the field to our students. I look forward to helping grow this already phenomenal department even further and to ensuring our students succeed.”

Contact

Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])