Research Interests

Dr. Bushick’s research interests center on using high-performance computing to study material systems at the atomic scale. He is interested in developing methods to improve our mechanistic understanding of material properties, gaining insights which can improve material performance. Specific examples include:

• Accelerating and improving the usability of (machine learned) interatomic potentials to study large scale systems at extreme conditions
• First-principles method development for studying optoelectronic properties of novel semiconductors
• Electron-phonon mediated quantum processes such as carrier mobility, indirect optical absorption, and phonon-assisted Auger-Meitner recombination

Subject Matter Expertise

• Computational materials science
• Density functional theory
• Scientific and High-performance computing
• Functional semiconductors
• Phonon mediated quantum processes

PhD, Materials Science and Engineering and Scientific Computing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2023

MS, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2020

BS, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 2018

Certificate in Materials and Technology, Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN), Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 2018

Selected Publications

N. Pant, K. Bushick, A. McAllister, W. Lee, C.G. Van de Walle, E. Kioupakis, “Carrier confinement and alloy disorder exacerbate Auger–Meitner recombination in AlGaN ultraviolet light-emitting diodes” Appl. Phys. Lett. 125, 021109 (2024).

K. Bushick and E. Kioupakis, “Phonon-assisted Auger-Meitner Recombination in Silicon from First Principles” Phys. Rev. Lett., 131, 076902 (2023).

H. Lee, S. Poncé, K. Bushick, S. Hajinazar, J. Lafuente-Bartolome, J. Leveillee, C. Lian, J. Lihm, F. Macheda, H. Mori, H. Paudyal, W.H. Sio, S. Tiwari, M. Zacharias, X. Zhang, N. Bonini, E. Kioupakis, E.R. Margine, F. Giustino, “Electron-phonon physics from first principles using the EPW code” npj Comput. Mater. 9, 156 (2023).

J. Chapman, K.E. Kweon, Y. Zhu, K. Bushick, L.B.B. Aji, C.A. Colla, H. Mason, N. Goldman, N. Keilbart, S.R. Qui, T.W. Heo, J. Rodriguez, B.C. Wood, “Hydrogen in Disordered Titania: Connecting Local Chemistry, Structure, and Stoichiometry through Accelerated Exploration” J. Mater. Chem. A., 11, 8670-8683 (2023)

E. Kioupakis, S. Chae, K. Bushick, N. Pant, X. Zhang, W. Lee, “Theoretical Characterization and Computational Discovery of Ultra-Wide-Band-Gap Semiconductors with Predictive Atomistic Calculations” J. Mater. Res. 36, 4616-4637 (2021).

K. Bushick*, K.A. Mengle*, S. Chae, E. Kioupakis, “Electron and Hole Mobility of Rutile GeO2 from First Principles: An Ultrawide-Bandgap Semiconductor for Power Electronics” Appl. Phys. Lett. 117, 182104 (2020).

K. Bushick*, S. Chae*, Z. Deng, J.T. Heron, and E. Kioupakis. “Boron Arsenide Heterostructures: Lattice-Matched Heterointerfaces and Strain Effects on Band Alignments and Mobility” npj Comput. Mater. 6, 3 (2020).

K. Bushick, K.A. Mengle, N. Sanders, and E. Kioupakis, “Band structure and carrier effective masses of boron arsenide: effects of quasiparticle and spin-orbit coupling corrections” Appl. Phys. Lett. 114, 022101 (2019).

* equal contribution

For a full list, see: Google Scholar | ORCID

• DOE CSGF Frederick A. Howes Scholar Award, 2024
• NERSC High Performance Computing Achievement Award: High Impact Scientific Achievement, 2023
• Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Outstanding Ph.D. Research, University of Michigan, 2023
• Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement, University of Michigan, 2023
• Best Oral Presentation Award for the Silicon for Photovoltaics Symposium at 2022 MRS Spring Meeting, 2022
• Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, 2019
• Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineering (MICDE) Graduate Fellowship, University of Michigan, 2018
• Hilliard Award for Research and Design, Northwestern University, 2018