Research Interests

Theoretical and computational modeling of materials including growth and strain effects in thin films, mechanical properties and radiation damage of metals and ceramics, and growth and morphological evolution of molecular crystals and energetic materials.

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, 2000

M.S., Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, 1997

B.S., Physics, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 1994

Zepeda-Ruiz, L. A., G. H. Gilmer, A. Maiti, and R. Gee, “Evaporation of the (110) Surface of PETN,” Journal of Crystal Growth, in press.

Maiti, A., L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, R. Gee, and A. K. Burnham, “Vapor Pressure and Sublimation Rate of Molecular Crystals: Role of Internal Degrees of Freedom,” Journal of Physical Chemistry B 111: 14290:14294 (2007).

Zepeda-Ruiz, L. A., B. Sadigh, J. Biener, A. M. Hodge, and Alex V. Hamza, “Mechanical Response of Freestanding Au Nanopillars under Compression,” Applied Physics Letters 91: 101907 (2007).

Marian, J., L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, N. Couto, E. M. Bringa, G. H. Gilmer, P. Stangeby, and T. Rognlien “Characterization of Sputtering Products during Graphite Exposure to Deuterium Ions by Molecular Dynamics,” Journal of Applied Physics 101: 044506 (2007).

Biener, J., A. M. Hodge, J. R. Hayes, C. A. Volkert, L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, A. V. Hamza, and F. F. Abraham, “Size Effects on the Mechanical Behavior of Nanoporous Au,” Nano Letters 6: 2379 (2006).

Zepeda-Ruiz, L. A., A. Maiti, R. Gee, G. H. Gilmer, and B. Weeks, “Size and Habit Evolution of PETN Crystals – A Lattice Monte Carlo Study,” Journal of Crystal Growth 291: 461-467 (2006).

Marian, J., L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, G. H. Gilmer, E. M. Bringa, and T. Rognlien, “Simulations of Carbon Sputtering in Amorphous Hydrogenated Samples,” Physica Scripta T124: 65-69 (2006).

Kolluri, K., L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, C. S. Murthy, and D. Maroudas, “Kinetics of Strain Relaxation in Si1-xGex Thin Films on Si(100) Substrates: Modeling and Comparisons with Experiments,” Applied Physics Letters 88: 021904 (2006).

Zepeda-Ruiz, L. A., G. H. Gilmer, B. Sadigh, A. Caro, T. Oppelstrup, and A. V. Hamza, “Atomistic Simulations of Grain Boundary Pinning in CuFe Alloys,” Applied Physics Letter 87: 231904 (2005).

De Yoreo, J. J., A. A. Chernov, L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, L. E. Wasylenki, S. Elhadj, C. A. Orme, G. H. Gilmer, and P. M. Dove, “A Kink-Site Limited Model for Growth and Inhibition of Biominerals,” Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta 69: A481-A481 (2005).

Zepeda-Ruiz, L. A., J. Röttler, B. D. Wirth, R. Car, and D. J. Srolovitz, “Self-Interstitial Transport in Vanadium,” Acta Materialia 53: 1985-1994 (2005).

De Yoreo, J. J., A. A. Chernov, P. M. Dove,  L. E. Wasylenki, C. A. Orme,  L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, S. Elhadj, and G. H. Gilmer, “Should We Be Describing the Growth of Biomineral Phases with a Kinetic Model?” Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society 229: U882-U882 (2005).