Li-ion batteries, hydrogen cars, and water filtration systems are crucial for solving global challenges in sustainability, yet these technologies all rely on poorly understood processes occurring at the interface between a solid material and a liquid. Our group uses computational physics to investigate the atomic scale structure, properties, and functionality of solid-liquid interfaces in renewable energy technology. We implement our methods using open source software running on JMU’s very own high-performance computing cluster.

• Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics, 2016, Cornell University
• BS in Physics & Mathematics, 2007, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, BA

• “Validating First Principles Molecular Dynamics Calculations of Solid/Liquid Interfaces
  with X-ray Reflectivity,” K. Harmon†, K. Letchworth-Weaver†, A. Gaiduk, F. Gilberti, F. Gygi, M. K.Y. Chan, P. Fenter, G. Galli, Physical Review Materials 4, 113805 (2020). † Equally Contributing Author
• 'Effect of Undercoordinated Ag(111) Defect Sites on the Adsorption of Ethanol,' D. A. Schlosser, D. Yehorova, H. Kaleem, E. M. Maxwell, J. S. Baker, M. Z. Gillum, M. C. DePonte, K. Letchworth-Weaver, A. E. Baber, Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A 38, 033213 (2020).
• “How Heteroepitaxy Occurs on Strontium Titanate,” Seyoung Cook, K. Letchworth-Weaver, I-Cheng Tung, Tassie K. Andersen, Hawoong Hong, Laurence D. Marks, Dillon D. Fong, Science Advances, 5 (4) eaav0764 (2019).