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From Angstrom
to Embassy (A2E)
Computational materials physics for a sovereign, just, and technologically competitive future.
ADVANCING MATERIALS
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
Lab members
Meet our dedicated team of researchers and students shaping the future of materials.
Research Center
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Suggestions
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INNOVATION-DRIVEN MATERIALS RESEARCH COMBINING
THEORY, SIMULATION, EXPERIMENT
Dr. Ahmed is a nanophysicist whose expertise spans the full arc of technology development — from quantum-scale materials physics through device design, process integration, and manufacturing. Before entering academia, he spent close to a decade as a senior R&D engineer at Intel Corporation, developing a working knowledge of how atomic-scale discoveries become manufactured products. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Engineering Technology at SUNY Buffalo State University, founder of the Center for Integrated Studies in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CISNN), and served four years as a Visiting Faculty at the Department of Energy. He is a Senior Fellow at the US Manufacturing Innovation Council.
His research program — Angstrom to Embassy — applies density functional theory, machine learning, and ab initio molecular dynamics across multiple frontier domains: energy (perovskite PV phenomena and devices, sodium and magnesium-ion battery kinetics), semiconductors, quantum materials (probing phenomena such as valleytronics), and optoelectronics. The program’s name captures its intent: connecting discoveries at the atomic scale to the policy and market decisions that determine whether those discoveries reach the world.
research focus
CLEAN ENergy
Lead-free perovskite solar phenomena and devices; magnesium and sodium-ion battery kinetics (cobalt-free, lithium-free)
Quantum Materials
Valleytronics and post-silicon computing (WTe₂ heterostructures)
Semiconductors
2D transition metal dichalcogenides, MBenes, and device physics
Optoelectronics
Photovoltaic device characterization, optical properties of 2D materials
AI-Accelerated Materials Discovery
ML-guided synthesis optimization and property prediction
Research Impact & Contributions
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YEARS OF INDUSTRY R&D
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YEARS OF NATIONAL LABRATORY RESEARCH
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Angstrom to Embassy (A2E)
Where atomic-scale discovery meets policy-scale impact
The A2E research program operates across multiple frontier technology domains — clean energy, advanced semiconductors, quantum materials, and optoelectronics — connected by a single organizing question: how do discoveries at the scale of atoms translate into technologies that change the world? That translation requires both scientific depth and policy fluency. The lab publishes peer-reviewed science in high-impact journals. It also engages directly with the legislative and diplomatic spaces where the rules governing these technologies are written — advocating for supply chain sovereignty, ethical materials sourcing, and US competitiveness in critical technology sectors.
Current work includes lead-free perovskite solar devices that require no polysilicon from Xinjiang, sodium-ion battery anodes that require no cobalt from the DRC, and valleytronic semiconductor materials designed to make AI computation dramatically more energy-efficient. All three are published in peer-reviewed journals in 2024–2026. All three have direct implications for US energy policy and industrial competitiveness.
Student Placements & Alumni Outcomes
Our students have progressed to leading universities, national laboratories, and global technology companies.
