Curriculum Vitae

Contact Info

Phone: (440) 231-3586 Email: knykiel@purdue.edu

Education

Ph.D. Materials Engineering, Purdue University (in progress) Aug. 2021 - Present

  • Committee: Dr. Alejandro Strachan, Dr. Arun Mannodi, Dr. Babak Anasori, Dr. Rahim Rahimi
  • Concentration in Computational Engineering

B.S. Materials Science & Applied Physics, Ohio State University Aug. 2017 - May 2021

  • Magna Cum Laude
  • Honors Research Distinction

Research Experience

Graduate Research, Purdue University

Aug. 2021 - Present
Advisor: Dr. Alejandro Strachan

  • Implemented high-throughput density functional theory workflows for elastic constants, phonons, electronic bandstructure, convex hull stability, and equations of state
  • Studied stability and synthesizability of MXenes, their precursors, and MXene-derived materials
  • Developed a set of workflows for Quantum ESPRESSO in nanoHUB

Undergraduate Research, Ohio State University

Jan. 2019 – May 2021
Advisor: Dr. Hamish Fraser

  • Developed a MATLAB-based app for stereographic projection and trace analysis
  • Performed SEM with OSU’s Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis

Jan. 2020 – May 2021
Advisor: Dr. Wolfgang Windl

  • Studied goniopolar materials by calculating band structures of TMDs using VASP
  • Obtained honors research distinction through undergraduate thesis

Teaching Experience

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Purdue University Jan. 2023 - May 2023

  • Taught Materials Processing Lab, an undergraduate course covering the processing of metals, ceramics, and polymers
  • Led lab sessions and coordinated student final design projects

Mentoring Experience

Graduate Student Mentor, MNT-CURN May 2023 - Sept. 2023, May 2024 - Sept. 2024

  • Mentor three undergraduates through the Micro Nano Technology Collaborative Undergraduate Research Network (MNT-CURN)
  • Used statistical natural langugage processing and large language models to analyze trends of expert selection in news articles

Graduate Student Mentor, Purdue University May 2022 - Dec. 2022

  • Mentored one high school student / later undergrad through Purdue University
  • Simulated 2D ising model of ferromagnetism using markov chain monte carlo, later trained generative models on ising trajectories

Honors and Awards

MaRDA Best Graduate Student Poster Award Mar. 2023

  • Awarded for presenting at the Spring 2023 Materials Research Data Alliance Conference

Publications

Journal Publications

  • Wyatt, B. C., Thakur, A., Nykiel, K., Hood, Z. D., Adhikari, S. P., Pulley, K. K., Highland, W. J., Strachan, A., & Anasori, B. Design of Atomic Ordering in Mo2Nb2C3Tx MXenes for Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis. Nano Lett. (2023) doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c04287.
  • Nykiel, K. & Strachan, A. High-throughput density functional theory screening of double transition metal MXene precursors. Sci Data 10, 827 (2023).
  • Chen, C.-C., Appleton, R. J., Nykiel, K., Mishra, S., Yao, S., & Strachan, A. How accurate is density functional theory at high pressures? Computational Materials Science 247, 113458 (2025).
  • Lee, B. H., Nykiel, K., Hallberg, A. E., Rider, B. & Strachan, A. Thermodynamic Fidelity of Generative Models for Ising System. Preprint at https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2412.03764 (2024).

Presentations and Invited Lectures

Poster Presentation, “Exploration of Stacked MXenes as Precursors to Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics,” EPW School on Electron-Phonon Physics, Jun. 2024, Austin, TX.

Oral Presentation, “Exploration of Stacked MXenes as Precursors to Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics,” Materials Research Society, Apr. 2024, Seattle, WA.

Oral Presentation, “Semi-Supervised Prediction of Double-Transition Metal MXene Stability,” Materials at Purdue Symposium, May 2023, West Lafayette, IN.

Oral Presentation, “Semi-Supervised Prediction of Double-Transition Metal MXene Stability,” Materials Research Society, Apr. 2023, San Francisco, CA.

Oral Presentation, “Semi-Supervised Prediction of Double-Transition Metal MXene Stability,” Materials Research Data Alliance Conference, Mar. 2023, Virtual.