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Mat-IQ: Materials Intelligence & Quantum Lab

Hello, I am Avanish Mishra

Staff Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory — integrating first-principles methods and molecular dynamics with machine learning and quantum computing to accelerate materials discovery

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Materials Modeling

Atomistic to continuum

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Materials Informatics

AI/ML-driven discovery

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Quantum Computing

For chemistry & materials

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Virtual Characterization

Simulation ↔ experiment

Where Artificial Intelligence Meets Materials Science

I am a staff scientist in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, specializing in the design of structural materials for extreme environments and functional materials for energy-to-electronics applications.

My work integrates first-principles methods (DFT, VASP, Quantum ESPRESSO) and molecular dynamics (LAMMPS) with emerging paradigms such as machine learning — including graph neural networks, generative AI, active learning, and large language models — and quantum computing (Qiskit, pySCF) to accelerate materials discovery.

I have contributed to open data infrastructure (aNANt database, JARVIS-Leaderboard, URSA) and authored 38+ peer-reviewed publications with 2,538+ citations and an h-index of 19.

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Education

Ph.D. Materials Science
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (2014–2019)

M.Sc. Physics · B.Sc. Physics, Math & Chemistry — DDU Gorakhpur University

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Recognition

Director's Postdoc Fellow — LANL, 2022

Science in 3 (Top 30 postdocs) · Kawazoe Prize · GATE AIR 36 · CSIR-NET AIR 58

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Tools & Methods

DFT · MD · VASP · LAMMPS · Quantum ESPRESSO

pySCF · Qiskit · ASE · GenAI · LLMs · Agentic AI

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Professional Affiliations

TMS · APS · MRS · ICME

Symposium co-organizer: TMS 2025 & 2026 AI-ICME

Research Journey

2023-Present

Staff Scientist 2, Theoretical Division, LANL

Leading research in materials informatics, quantum computing for chemistry, generative AI for process-structure mapping, and virtual characterization tools.

2022-2023

Director's Postdoc Fellow, LANL

Developed physics-informed ML for grain boundary property prediction using strain functional descriptors. Selected as one of 30 postdocs for "Science in 3" at LANL.

2019-2022

Postdoc Fellow & Research Scientist, UConn

Pioneered virtual characterization tools for shock-induced deformations, phase transformation mechanisms, and diffraction fingerprinting in dynamic loading.

2019

Ph.D. Materials Science, IISc Bangalore

Dissertation: "Exploration of exfoliation, functionalization and properties of MXenes via first-principles and machine learning."

Mat-IQ: Materials Intelligence & Quantum Lab

Our interdisciplinary team at Los Alamos National Laboratory

AM

Avanish Mishra

Principal Investigator

Staff Scientist, Theoretical Division, LANL

Postdocs

AD

Arindam Debanath

Postdoctoral Researcher

04/2026 - present

JW

Jacob Z. Williams

Postdoctoral Researcher

08/2025 - present

Co-advised with Dr. Yu Zhang, LANL

AW

Adam J. Witmer

Postdoctoral Researcher

02/2026 - present

Co-advised with Dr. Tyler Reddy, LANL

Students

AA

Ashwin Ajit

Summer Student

06/2026 - present

Carnegie Mellon University

Co-advised with Dr. Saryu Fensin, LANL

KT

Kaya Tacer

Summer Student

06/2026 - present

Purdue University

Alumni

Alumni will be added soon

Former group members

Please add names, roles, dates, and current positions in data/people.json.

Research Frontiers

Leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing to solve the hardest problems in materials science

Materials Informatics & AI

Data-driven discovery fusing physics-based descriptors with ML models. Active learning, graph neural networks, and explainable AI for accelerated materials design.

ML/AIActive LearningGNNsXAITransformers
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Quantum Computing for Materials

Hybrid quantum–classical strategies for correlated materials. Variational algorithms, error mitigation, and domain-specific workflows for catalysis and energy storage.

VQEError MitigationQuantum Chemistry
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Structural Materials

Predictive models for extreme environments — fusion reactors, shock deformation, and radiation damage. Multiscale simulations from atoms to continuum.

FusionShock PhysicsRadiation
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Functional Materials

Engineering materials from bulk to 2D — complex oxides, heterostructures, and hybrids for energy, electronics, and photonics.

2D MaterialsMXenesEnergy
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Virtual Characterization

Computational tools for texture analysis, diffraction simulation, and orientation relationships from atomistic data.

VirTexDiffractionMicrostructure
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Publications & Impact

Peer-reviewed publications, open datasets, and software contributions for AI-driven materials science

2,538+ Total Citations
38+ Publications
19 h-index
16 Journals Reviewed
View Google Scholar →

Latest & Impactful Work

Showing curated papers from CV. Google Scholar is linked directly; live browser fetching from Scholar is not available.

2026

Controlling Deformation in Al/Ti: How Interface Roughness and Rotation Drive Bimetal Mechanics

A. Mishra, J. S. Carpenter, and S. J. Fensin

Physical Review Materials 10, 063602

2026

Phase field dislocation dynamics study of grain boundary-dislocation interactions

B. Murgas, A. Mishra, N. Mathew, and A. Hunter

Journal of Applied Physics 139, 155101

2025

Influence of nanoscale interfaces on the dynamic deformation and spall failure of Cu–Fe alloy microstructures

P. Tsurkan, M. J. Echeverria, A. Mishra, and A. M. Dongare

Journal of Applied Physics 138, 225902

2025

Unveiling Process–Structure Mapping with Generative AI

A. Mishra, B. W. Hamilton, M. S. Nitol, N. Mathew, T. C. Germann, and S. J. Fensin

Proceedings of the IEEE/CVF International Conference on Computer Vision Workshops, 3593–3602

2025

Moment tensor potential and its application in the Ti-Al-V multi-component system

M. S. Nitol, A. Mishra, S. Xu, and S. J. Fensin

Physical Review Materials 9, 063601

2025

Dislocation-Grain Boundary Interaction Dataset for FCC Cu

K. Dang, S. Suresh, A. Mishra, I. Chesser, N. Mathew, E. M. Kober, and S. J. Fensin

Scientific Data 12, 955

2025

Substitutional doping of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides for device applications: Current status, challenges and prospects

R. Kumar, A. K. Shringi, H. J. Wood, S. Oturak, T. S. K. Sharma, R. Chaurasiya, A. Mishra, W. M. Choi, N. Y. Doumon, I. Daboc, M. Terrones, and F. Yan

Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports 163, 100946

2024

Learning from metastable symmetric-tilt grain boundaries using physics-based descriptors

A. Mishra, S. Suresh, S. J. Fensin, E. M. Kober, and N. Mathew

Physical Review Materials 8, 123605

2024

The structure and migration of heavily irradiated grain boundaries and dislocations in Ni in the athermal limit

I. Chesser, P. M. Derlet, A. Mishra, S. Paguaga, N. Mathew, K. Q. Dang, B. P. Uberuaga, A. Hunter, and S. Fensin

Physical Review Materials 8, 093606

2024

Potential Applications of Quantum Computing at Los Alamos National Laboratory

A. Bärtschi, F. Caravelli, C. Coffrin, J. Colina, S. Eidenbenz, A. Jayakumar, S. Lawrence, M. Lee, A. Y. Lokhov, A. Mishra, S. Misra, Z. Morrell, Z. Mughal, D. Neill, A. Piryatinski, A. Scheie, M. Vuffray, and Y. Zhang

arXiv preprint

2024

Direct measurement of the thermal expansion coefficient of epitaxial WSe2 by four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy

T. M. Kucinski, R. Dhall, B. Savitzky, C. L. Ophus, R. Karkee, A. Mishra, E. Dervishi, J. H. Kang, C. Lee, J. Yoo, and M. T. Pettes

ACS Nano 18, 27

2024

Interplay between dislocation type and local structure in dislocation-twin boundary reactions in Cu

K. Dang, A. Mishra, S. Suresh, E. M. Kober, N. Mathew, and S. J. Fensin

Physical Review Materials 8, 063604

2024

Large Scale Benchmark of Materials Design Methods

K. Choudhary et al.

npj Computational Materials 10, 93

2024

Data-driven search for promising intercalating ions and layered materials for metal-ion batteries

S. Parida, A. Mishra, Q. Yang, A. Dobley, C. B. Carter, and A. M. Dongare

Journal of Materials Science 59, 932

2023

Role of Microscopic Degrees of Freedom on Nanopillar Compression of Bicrystal Cu

A. Mishra, K. Dang, E. M. Kober, S. J. Fensin, and N. Mathew

Materials Research Letters 11, 872

2023

Interface Microstructure Effects on Dynamic Failure Behavior of Layered Cu/Ta Microstructures

R. Kumar, J. Chen, A. Mishra, and A. M. Dongare

Scientific Reports 13, 11365

2023

Modeling Shock-induced Void Collapse in Single-crystal Ta Systems at the Mesoscales

S. Galitskiy, A. Mishra, and A. M. Dongare

International Journal of Plasticity 164, 103596

2023

Modeling Laser Interactions with Aluminum and Tantalum Targets using a Hybrid Atomistic-Continuum Model

C. Ching, S. Galitskiy, A. Mishra, and A. M. Dongare

Journal of Applied Physics 133, 105901

2022

Virtual Diffraction Simulations using the Quasi-Coarse-Grained Dynamics Method to Understand and Interpret Plasticity Contributions during In Situ Shock Experiments

A. Mishra, K. Ma, and A. M. Dongare

Journal of Materials Science 57, 12782

2022

Virtual Texture Analysis to Investigate the Deformation Mechanisms in Metal Microstructures at the Atomic-Scale

A. Mishra, M. J. Echeverria, K. Ma, S. Parida, C. Chen, S. Galitskiy, and A. M. Dongare

Journal of Materials Science 57, 10549

2022

Feature Blending: An Approach Towards Unified Machine Learning Models for Band Gap Prediction

S. Satsangi, A. Mishra, and A. K. Singh

ACS Physical Chemistry Au 2, 16

2021

Understanding the Phase Transformation Mechanisms that affect the Dynamic Response of Fe-based Microstructures at the Atomic Scales

A. Mishra, J. Lind, M. Kumar, and A. M. Dongare

Journal of Applied Physics 130, 215902

2021

Modeling the Evolution of Microstructure during Laser Shock Loading and Spall Failure of Cu Microstructures at the Atomic Scales

M. J. Echeverria, S. Galitskiy, A. Mishra, and A. M. Dongare

Computational Materials Science 198, 110668

2021

Fingerprinting Shock-induced Deformations via Diffraction

A. Mishra, C. Kunka, M. J. Echeverria, R. Dingreville, and A. M. Dongare

Scientific Reports 11, 9872

2021

Origin of High Interfacial Resistance in Solid-State Batteries: LLTO/LCO Half-cells

P. Xu, W. Rheinheimer, A. Mishra, S. N. Shuvo, Z. Qi, H. Wang, A. M. Dongare, and L. A. Stanciu

ChemElectroChem 8, 1847

2020

Sulfur-doped Titanium Carbide MXenes for Room Temperature Gas Sensing

S. N. Shuvo, A. M. U. Gomez, A. Mishra, W. Y. Chen, A. M. Dongare, and L. A. Stanciu

ACS Sensors 5, 2915

2020

Vertically Stacked 2H-1T Dual-phase MoS2 Microstructures During Lithium Intercalation: A first Principles Study

S. Parida, A. Mishra, J. Chen, J. Wang, C. B. Carter, and A. M. Dongare

Journal of the American Ceramic Society 103, 6603

2020

Ultralow Thermal Conductivity and Anomalously High Thermoelectric Figure of Merit in Ternary In5X5Br (X = S, and Se) Compounds

T. Pandey, A. Nissimagoudar, A. Mishra, and A. K. Singh

Journal of Materials Chemistry A 8, 13812

2019

Structure-Dependent Electrical and Magnetic Properties of Iron Oxide Composites

N. Lertcumfu, F. N. Sayed, S. N. Shirodkar, S. Radhakrishnana, A. Mishra, G. Rujijanagul, A. K. Singh, B. I. Yakobson, C. S. Tiwary, and P. M. Ajayan

Physica Status Solidi A 1801004

2019

Magnetism in Two-Dimensional Materials Beyond Graphene

N. Sethulakshmi, A. Mishra, P. M. Ajayan, Y. Kawazoe, A. Roy, A. K. Singh, and C. S. Tiwary

Materials Today 27, 107

2019

Recent Advances in MXenes: From Fundamentals to Applications

M. Khazaei, A. Mishra, N. S. Venkataramanan, A. K. Singh, and S. Yunoki

Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 23, 164

2019

Accelerated Data-Driven Accurate Positioning of the Band-Edges of MXenes

A. Mishra, S. Satsangi, A. C. Rajan, H. Mizuseki, K.-R. Lee, and A. K. Singh

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 10, 780

2018

Machine-Learning-Assisted Accurate Band Gap Predictions of Functionalized MXene

A. C. Rajan, A. Mishra, S. Satsangi, R. Vaish, H. Mizuseki, K.-R. Lee, and A. K. Singh

Chemistry of Materials 30, 4031

2018

Origami-Inspired 3D Interconnected Molybdenum Carbide Nanoflakes

R. Koizumi, S. Ozden, A. Samanta, A. P. P. Alves, A. Mishra, G. Ye, G. G. Silva, R. Vajtai, A. K. Singh, C. S. Tiwary, and P. M. Ajayan

Advanced Materials Interfaces 5, 1701113

2017

Ferroelectricity, Antiferroelectricity, and Ultrathin 2D Electron/Hole Gas in Multifunctional Monolayer MXene

A. Chandrasekaran, A. Mishra, and A. K. Singh

Nano Letters 17, 3290

2017

Atomistic Origin of Phase Stability in Oxygen Functionalized MXene: A Comparative Study

A. Mishra, P. Srivastava, A. Carreras, I. Tanaka, H. Mizuseki, K.-R. Lee, and A. K. Singh

Journal of Physical Chemistry C 121, 18947

2016

Mechanistic Insight into the Chemical Exfoliation and Functionalization of Ti3C2 MXene

P. Srivastava, A. Mishra, H. Mizuseki, K.-R. Lee, and A. K. Singh

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 8, 24256

2016

Isolation of pristine MXene from Nb4AlC3 MAX phase: A first-principles Study

A. Mishra, P. Srivastava, H. Mizuseki, K.-R. Lee, and A. K. Singh

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 18, 11073

Open-Source Tools

Codes, databases, and AI-powered tools I've developed and contributed to

Latest News

Coming soon.

Shape the Future of Materials Science

We are actively recruiting motivated researchers at all levels who are passionate about AI, quantum computing, and materials science

Postdoctoral

Postdoctoral Researchers

Opportunities for researchers interested in AI for materials, quantum computing workflows, multiscale simulation, and virtual characterization.

Open

Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision for Materials Postdoctoral Research Associate

  • Postdoctoral research associate position in AI and computer vision for materials science
  • Focus areas include machine learning, computer vision, materials characterization, and data-driven materials discovery
  • Ideal background: computational materials science, AI/ML, computer vision, image/data analysis, or related fields
  • View official LANL job posting

Apply through the official LANL jobs posting. Interested candidates may also contact the group to discuss research fit.

Apply on LANL Jobs
Open / Inquire

Postdoc Fellowships

  • Director's Postdoc Fellow and Distinguished Postdoc Fellow pathways
  • CNLS postdoctoral fellowships for exceptional candidates
  • Oppenheimer postdoctoral fellowships for outstanding applicants
  • Research areas: physics-guided AI, atomistic simulation, materials informatics, quantum computing, and autonomous workflows

Send your CV and a brief statement of research interests. Include 2-3 representative papers if available.

Contact about postdoc roles
Graduate

Graduate Students

Graduate research opportunities are available through LANL student programs, fellowships, and collaborative university projects.

Recruiting

Graduate Research Opportunities

  • DOE SCGSR Program
  • NNSA Lab Residency Graduate Fellowship (LRGF)
  • LANL graduate student appointments and summer research pathways
  • Topics include machine learning interatomic potentials, process-structure-property modeling, and AI agents for scientific workflows

Interested graduate students should send a short research-interest note, CV, and expected availability.

Contact about graduate roles
Undergraduate

Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate internships are suitable for students interested in computational materials science, Python-based scientific software, AI/ML, and simulation analysis.

Seasonal

Undergraduate Internships

  • DOE SULI Program
  • LANL summer student and undergraduate research opportunities
  • Projects may include data analysis, molecular simulation workflows, visualization, and ML model development

Please include your CV/resume, coursework or coding experience, and preferred research topics.

Contact about internships

Why Join Mat-IQ?

Work at the forefront of AI + materials science at one of the world's premier research laboratories. Our group offers a unique combination of cutting-edge science, world-class computing resources, and a collaborative, mentorship-driven environment.

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World-Class HPC

Access to LANL supercomputers & quantum hardware

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Interdisciplinary

AI, quantum computing, physics & chemistry

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Career Growth

Mentorship & pathways for future growth

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Quality of Life

Located in beautiful Northern New Mexico

Get in Touch →

Open to Non-sensitive Foreign Nationals, Permanent Residents, and US Citizens.

Let's Connect

Interested in collaboration or open positions?