Joel Varley is a Staff Scientist and Deputy Group Leader in the Quantum Simulations Group within the Materials Science Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics in 2011 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where his doctoral research focused on the fundamental electronic and point-defect properties of oxide semiconductors. His research interests center on the development and application of first-principles computational methods to accelerate the discovery of materials for next-generation electronics and energy conversion and utilization. This work has encompassed sustainable energy technologies (electrochemical/photoelectrochemical conversion and storage; power generation and energy efficiency), wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors for novel electronic and power switching devices, and exploiting point defect-mediated properties (e.g. for sensing, electronic and optical control, quantum information, device degradation, etc.). 

Ph.D. Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2011

M.S. Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2009

B.S. Physics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2005

For a full list, see: Google Scholar: Joel B Varley  ;  ORCID: 0000-0002-5384-5248 

Selected publications 

J.B. Varley, “First-principles calculations of structural, electrical, and optical properties of ultra-wide bandgap (Al_xGa_1-x)₂O₃ alloys,” J. Mater. Res. 36, 4790 (2021). 

J.B. Varley, K. Kweon, P. Mehta, P. Shea, T.W. Heo, T.J. Udovic, V. Stavila, and B.C. Wood, “Understanding Ionic Conductivity Trends in Polyborane Solid Electrolytes from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics,” ACS Energy Lett. 2, 250 (2017). 

J.B. Varley, A. Miglio, V.-A. Ha, M.J. van Setten, G.-M. Rignanese, and G. Hautier, “High-Throughput Design of Non-oxide p-Type Transparent Conducting Materials: Data Mining, Search Strategy, and Identification of Boron Phosphide,” Chem. Mater. 29(, 2568 (2017). 

J.B. Varley, Y. Wang, K. Chan, F. Studt, and J.K. Nørskov, “Mechanistic insights into nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase enzymes,” Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 17, 29541 (2015). 

Patents 

Varley,  J. B., Allen, N. P., Frye, C., Kweon, K. E., Lordi, V. and Voss, L. , “Field assisted interfacial diffusion doping through heterostructure design,” U.S. Patent 17/166,962 (2021). 

Biener, J. Akhade, S., Biener, M., Qi, Z., Varley,  J. B., Weitzner, S., Vedharathinam, V. , “Dilute alloy catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction,” U.S. Patent 17/061,165 (2021). 

Mackie, N., Zapalac, G., Zhang, W., Corson, J. F., He, X., Rockett, A., Varley, J. B., Lordi, V., “Hexagonal phase epitaxial cadmium sulfide on copper indium gallium selenide for a photovoltaic junction,” U.S. Patent 10,446,706 (2019). 

2024 Early and Mid-Career Recognition Award, Director’s Award, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

2024, 2018 Outstanding Mentor Award, Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  

2014 Postdoctorate of the Year Award, Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  

Memberships: APS, ACS, MRS, ECS, SPIE 

Chair: 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Defects in Semiconductors