Joint Appointments
Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Lab have more than 75 joint appointments supporting the strategic missions of both institutions. Many of these are guest appointments (at BNL) or nonsalaried faculty appointments (at Stony Brook) that enable researchers to develop collaborations, access facilities, mentor students, and in some cases participate in teaching.
Other joint appointments involve formal arrangements, with effort assigned at Stony Brook and Brookhaven and shared salary funding.
Joint appointees strengthen ties between Stony Brook and Brookhaven, facilitate student engagement at Brookhaven, and contribute to shared research goals.
Meet some of our joint appointees below:
Dr. Chen-Wiegart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science
and Chemical Engineering . She holds a Joint Appointment at the National Synchrotron
Light Source – II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), coordinating
the effort of multi-modal research approach. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Materials
Science and Engineering from Northwestern University. Prof. Chen-Wiegart's research
focuses on applying state-of-the-art x-ray imaging and spectroscopic techniques to
study novel functional materials. Her current interests include energy storage and
conversion, nano-/meso-porous materials, thin film & surface treatment, and cultural
heritage. Before joining Stony Brook University, she served as beamline scientist
at the Sub-Micron Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy (SRX) Beamline of NSLS-II. Prior to
that she was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Synchrotron Light Source at BNL,
where she participated in the commissioning of the new high-resolution x-ray transmission
microscope and in establishing the new associated research program. Her PhD research
focused on the study of the dealloying and coarsening behaviors of nanoporous metal
which has numerous potential applications, co-funded by Advanced Photon Source, Argonne
National Laboratory. She has also been active in out-reach programs at NSLS-II and
SBU, organizing events such as “Bring Our Children to Work Day” for the Photon Sciences
Division at BNL, volunteering for educational and outreach events, and teaching courses
in Women in Science & Engineering program at SBU.
Dr Frenkel is a Professor in the Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Department
and has a joint appointment in the Chemistry Division at BNL. His research focuses
on disordered systems, mechanisms of catalytic reactions, mechanisms of work of electromechanical
materials (piezo-, ferro-, pyro-electrics and electrostrictors. Use of synchrotron-based
techniques in materials characterization (x-ray absorption (XAFS) and emission (RIXS)
spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction). Development of new in situ/operando techniques for
studies of functional nanomaterials.
Dr. Hamann is a 
Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and AI Chief Scientist
at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Environment, Biology, Nuclear Science and
Nonproliferation. Before joining BNL and SBU, Hendrik worked for 26 years at IBM Research,
most recently in the role of Chief Science Officer at the TJ Watson Research Center,
where he was responsible for the development of AI foundation models for accelerated
scientific discovery. He has authored more than 260 scientific papers, holds over
180 patents and has won several awards including the 2016 AIP Prize for Industrial
Applications of Physics. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the NY Academy of
Sciences. Hendrik is also a Visiting Professor at Yamagata University and Adjunct
Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Hendrik is a board member
and advisor to universities and has served extensively including as a member of the
standing committee for Geographical and Geospatial Sciences at the National Academies
of Sciences.
Dr. Jia is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and holds a joint appointment
with BNL in the Physics Department. He is studying the properties of the dense nuclear
matter created in elativistic heavy ion collisions. Under extremely high temperature
and density, such matter exist in the form of quasi-free quarks and gluons (Quark-Gluon
Plasma or QGP), whose interactions are scribed by the Quantum ChromoDynamics theory (QCD). They seek to recreate and study QGP in the laboratory and to understand
its underlying QCD theory. Our research is carried out at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at BNL and at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Their group is involved with the PHENIX and ATLAS experiments respectively, at each of these accelerator facilities
Dr. Khalifah is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and holds a joint appointment
at BNL in the Chemistry Division. His research addresses solid state chemistry, specifically
periodic solids which provide the backbone of the high-tech industry due to their
amplification of the interactions between individual atomic and molecular building
blocks assembled within their crystalline lattices. His group focuses on designing
functionality into crystalline solids using elemental substitution and structural
control to fine-tune the energy levels of bulk materials. Our expertise in materials
synthesis, structural characterization, and physical properties measurements allows
us to tackle all aspects of this “internal design” process.
Dr. Kharzeev, a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and a joint appointment
Energy and Photon Sciences Directorate, is interested in all aspects of the modern
theory of strong interactions - Quantum Chromo-Dynamics (QCD), and its applications
to the description of experimentally accessible phenomena. He is closely involved
in theoretical research related to the programs at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
at BNL and Large Hadron Collider at CERN. In particular, he studies the ways in which
the underlying quark-gluon structure of hadrons and nuclei determines the dynamics
of their interactions and the salient features of the visible Universe. Many of these
features stem from topology of non-Abelian gauge theories that form the current Standard
Model of the physical world. Dmitri also believes that all sub-fields of physics are
deeply connected, and cross-disciplinary interactions are necessary for the advancement
of science. For example, he argues that topology holds the key to understanding many
universal dynamical properties of systems at vastly different scales, from femto-meter
(quarks and gluons of QCD), to nano-meter (e.g. topological insulators and graphene),
to parsec (e.g. magnetic helicity and polarization of cosmic microwave background).
Dr. Kollias is a Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and holds
a joint appointment in Environmental Sciences and Technologies at BNL. His research
group focuses on the physical understanding of the atmospheric component of the hydrological
cycle and the improved representation of cloud and precipitation processes in global,
regional and cloud scale numerical models. Our group is also interest in the use of
radars in weather and climate research, from severe weather nowcasting to cloud-scale
processes. Synergetic remote sensing observations from both space-based and ground-based
sensors and their clever use through the development of new inversion algorithms and
adaptive sampling strategies constitute our approach for probing clouds and precipitation
in their natural environment. As part of our research we use a wide variety of observational
platforms, however, millimeter wavelength radars are our primary observing tool for
diagnosing the structure, kinematics and microphysics of clouds and precipitation.
For more information visit the Clouds and Radars Research Group web site.
Qiang Li
Dr. Li, in the Department of Physics and
Astronomy, as a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, holds a joint appointment at BNL
to lead the Advanced Energy Materials Group. He graduated from University of Science
and Technology of China (Hefei) with a bachelor’s degree in science in 1986 and came
to the US on the CUSPEA (China-U.S. Physics Examination and Application) program under
direction of Prof. T.D. Lee, a Nobel laureate. Afterfive years atIowa State University,
where he received his PhD in physics in 1991, Li joined the Condensed Matter Physics
and Materials Science Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). At BNL,
he is a physicist with tenure, and has been a lead principal investigator ofthe DOE
Office of Science’s superconducting materials program for over a decade and a half.
In 2009, Li became the newly created Advanced Energy Materials Group Leader. He has
led BNL’s effort in a number of DOE projects from high temperature superconductors
for grid scale energy storage, wind power generation, and next generation
electrical machine,to vehicle waste heatrecovery by thermoelectrics. Li’s research
interests range from basic physics and material sciences of
superconductors,thermoelectrics, and topological quantum materials to their applications
in energy and quantum information technology. He is a Fellow of American Physical
Society, and a recipient of R&D 100 award.
Dr. Litvinenko is a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department and holds a
joint appointment in BNL's Collider Accelerator Department. Litvinenko joined Brookhaven
as a senior physicist in 2003, and he is currently head of the Accelerator Physics
Group for Brookhaven's newest facility for nuclear physics research, the Relativistic
Heavy Ion Collider. After joining BNL in 2003, Litvinenko made critical contributions
to R&lD on the high-energy electron cooling of RHIC and to discoveries in designing
high-brightness electron beam injection to an energy recovery linac machine. He also
played a key role in the National Synchrotron Light Source II team developing the
design philosophy for this unique light source. With colleagues, he also established
the Center for Accelerator Science & Education at Stony Brook University and BNL,
where he is a co-director and teaches students. In 2004, the International Free Electron
Laser (FEL) community awarded him the FEL Prize for his outstanding contributions
for FEL science and technology.
Dr. Liu is an Associate Professor in the 
Physics and Astronomy Department at Stony Brook University. He holds a joint appointment
with BNL at NSLS II. His research interests include physics of correlated electron
systems, two-dimensional materials, infrared nano-optics and ultrafast time domain
THz specrroscopy. His prizes include a NFS Career Award (2021) and a Seaborg Institute
Research Fellowship at Los Alamos National Lab (2009).
Deanne Rogers
Dr. Rogers is a Professor in the 
Geosciences Department at Stony Brook University and holds a joint appointment with
BNL in their EBNN Directorate. She uses remote sensing techniques, statistical methods,
and field and laboratory spectroscopy to investigate earth and planetary surface processes.
Currently she is involved in method development for detecting uranium mining and milling
processes from orbital assets, as part of nuclear non-proliferation efforts. She
is Co-Investigator on the Mars Odyssey mission and Participating Scientist on the
Mars Science Laboratory mission. She is a member of teh NASA Solar System Exploration
Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) sub-node at Stony Brook University and was previously
a collaboratoe on the Mars Exploration Rover and OSIRIS-REx missions. Rogers was
named a NASA Planetary Science Division Early Career Fellow in 2009 and served on
the editorial board for the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets from 2018-2014.
She previously served on the National Academies' Committee on Planetary Protection.
She teaches courses in remote sensing, natural hazards, environmental geology, and
geomorphology.
Dr. Takeuchi is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Materials Science and
Chemical Engineering and in the Department of Chemistry at Stony Brook. She holds
a joint appointment with BNL and serves as Chair of their Interdisciplinary Sciences
Department. The advancement of battery systems with high energy and power densities
remains a lynch pin for new generations of energy storage. The full utilization of
renewable energy sources such as wind, photovoltaic, hydroelectric, and geothermal
power depends on the ability to store energy as in many cases the renewable energy
is generated on an intermittent basis. Additionally, portable electronics, hybrid
vehicles, electric vehicles, biomedical devices, and aerospace applications demand
advanced batteries that can perform safely over many years. Finally, the way in which
communities handle power demands through power grids may be affected significantly
by new developments in energy storage. Specific areas of research. For next generation
primary and secondary battery applications demanding long life, high energy density
and high power, new strategies are needed for the rational design of electroactive
materials and the concomitant engineering associated with battery design. Professor
Takeuchi’s research efforts are collaborative in nature, involving scientists with
a variety of research expertise. For example, we have an on-going research interest
in the structure / function relationships among electroactive materials and redox
properties as related to electrochemical energy storage. We also are actively involved
in the synthesis of new electroactive materials and the subsequent analysis involving
a variety of chemical and physical properties of materials. Further, we conduct fundamental
mechanistic studies involving the complex interplay among redox processes, ion transport,
and electrode precipitation / dissolution that are critical to the electrochemistry
associated with battery science.
Dr. Tan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences.
She holds a joint appointment with BNL in their Lab for Biomolecular Structure. Her
research focuses on understanding the structure-function relationship of macromolecules
that are involved in gene regulation. She is particularly interested in a DNA-protein
complex called chromatin, and in how its structure-dynamics is regulated during normal
development of multi-cellular organisms. She uses the state-of-the-art cryo-electron
microscopy (cryo-EM) and image analysis to obtain atomic-level structural information
of the protein complex in various functional states in vivo and in vitro. These studies
will provide valuable insights into our understanding of the complex and dynamic process
of gene regulation. She is working with the scientists from NSLS-II to bring the
cryo-EM technology to BNL by establishing the first cryo-EM center there. Besides
running her research program, Dongyan has also been actively participating in different
educational and outreach activities at SBU and BNL.
