Materials Science · Mechanical Behaviour of Materials · Electron Microscopy · Nanoindentation · Small-Scale Mechanical Testing

Kevin Jacob, PhD

I am a materials scientist working to understand how materials behave under extreme environments such as nuclear irradiation, high strain rates, and high temperatures. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at Iowa State University. I completed my Ph.D. at IIT Bombay, where I worked on the precipitation and deformation behaviour of maraging steels subjected to different levels of strain.

My goal is to build a program centered on the quantitative, multiscale mechanical characterization of materials for extreme environments, such as nuclear, aerospace, and defense structural alloys that must retain their integrity under irradiation, temperature, and high strain-rate loading. By pairing nanomechanical testing (spherical nanoindentation, micropillar compression, micro-tensile) with correlative microscopy (TEM, EBSD, atom probe tomography), I aim to connect processing and microstructure to mechanical performance across length scales. This work aligns with the missions of agencies including the U.S. Department of Energy, NSF, and ARPA-E, and India’s DAE-BRNS, ANRF, DRDO, and ISRO, through which I intend to build an independent, sustained research portfolio.

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Research interests

Processing–microstructure–property relationships in extreme-environment alloys
Advanced microscopy (TEM / APT) and in situ mechanical testing
Radiation-tolerant and high-temperature structural materials
Small-scale mechanical testing and nanomechanics
Phase transformations in thin films

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Multi-scale mechanical testing

From µm to mm, I bridge the micro, meso, and macro length scales to understand how a material’s microscopic structure dictates its overall performance. High-throughput nanoindentation makes it possible to map mechanical behaviour rapidly across many orientations and phases, and to test materials available only in tiny volumes (from neutron-irradiated samples too hazardous to handle in bulk, to rare fossilised and meteoritic specimens).

$Advanced microscopy: atom probe tomography, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction$ Click to enlarge ↗

Advanced microscopy

From single atoms to bulk grain structure, I use correlative microscopy to resolve a material’s structure across scales using atom probe tomography for precipitate composition and morphology, transmission electron microscopy for lattice and interface analysis, and SEM and EBSD for microstructure and phase distribution. Combining them on the same material links chemistry and structure directly to mechanical behaviour.

Correlative microscopy: HR-TEM for crystal structure, atom probe tomography for precipitate composition, and STEM-EDS mapping and dark-field imaging for phase analysis

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Research highlights

Applications of spherical nanoindentation in probing local material properties

Multiscale microstructural and mechanical characterization of high-strength alloys

Effect of orientation on deformation behaviour of BCC metals

⟨111⟩ orientation

⟨113⟩ orientation

In-situ SEM micropillar compression of tantalum (BCC) in two crystallographic orientations. The orientation of the loading axis relative to the available slip systems changes how the pillar deforms: multiple, equally active slip planes in the ⟨111⟩ orientation, versus single-slip deformation in the ⟨113⟩ orientation.

Effect of defects on deformation behaviour of materials

Multiple single slip deformations in single-crystalline material

Fracture in irradiated material due to the presence of defects

Education & positions

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Feb 2023 – present

Postdoctoral Researcher, Iowa State University

Materials Science & Engineering. Advisor: Dr. Sid Pathak. Deformation mechanisms and phase transformations in advanced structural materials using nanomechanical testing and advanced microscopy.

2017 – 2023

Ph.D., Metallurgical Engineering & Materials Science — IIT Bombay

Advisor: Dr. Nagamani Jaya Balila. Effect of deformation processing on the mechanical and precipitation behaviour of maraging steels.

2015 – 2017

M.Tech, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering — NIT Rourkela

Fatigue crack initiation from holes. GPA 9.2/10; Silver Medalist, Department Topper 2017.

2010 – 2014

B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering — Mar Baselios College of Engineering & Technology

CFD analysis of flame in a burner.

Selected publications

2026

Orientation- and temperature-dependent slip activity in tantalum

S. Najmabad, K. Jacob, S. Pathak, C. Bronkhorst, M. Knezevic · International Journal of Mechanical Sciences

2026

Correlating microstructural hierarchy and nanoindentation response in quenched and tempered low-carbon steel

K. Jacob, N.P. Atale, E. Shimak, J. Wanni, M. Knezevic, D.J. Thoma, C. Bronkhorst, S. Pathak · Materials Characterization

2026

In-situ synchrotron X-ray investigation of phase evolution in gas-atomized powder enabling manufacturing of nanoscale oxide-dispersion-strengthened ferritic steels

Z. Lyu, K. Jacob, R. Naorem, I. Anderson · Scripta Materialia

2023

Suppression of reverted austenite in cold-rolled maraging steels and its impact on mechanical properties

K. Jacob, H. Khanchandani, S. Dixit, B.N. Jaya · Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A

2022

Effect of dislocation network on precipitate morphology and deformation behaviour in maraging steels: modelling and experimental validation

K. Jacob, A. Roy, M.P. Gururajan, B.N. Jaya · Materialia

2021

High-pressure torsion processing of maraging steel 250: microstructure and mechanical behaviour evolution

K. Jacob, D. Yadav, S. Dixit, A. Hohenwarter, B. Nagamani · Materials Science & Engineering: A · 802, 140665

Patent
pending

Alloy powder compositions for gas atomization reaction synthesis to make oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloys

I. Anderson, T. Riedemann, R. Napolitano, E. Cockburn, E. Rinko, J. Tiarks, K. Jacob, Z. Lyu · U.S. Utility Patent (filed 2025, pending) · ISURF Ref. 5715

A selection of first-author and key contributions. Author names in bold indicate first-author work. My full publication list and conference presentations are in my CV.