
Richard Karnesky : Curriculum Vitae
Contact Information
Dr. Richard Karnesky
MS-9161
Sandia National Laboratories
7011 East Ave.
Livermore, CA 94550
Phone: 925.294.3410
Email: sandia.gov for work; gmail.com for personal
Web: Richard Karnesky
Fax: 925.294.3410
Research Interests
I am interested in how nanoscale compositional variation in metals influences their bulk mechanical properties. I also investigate the kinetics of microstructural change and hydrogen compatibility for long-term structural applications.
Research Experience
Senior Materials Scientist, Sandia National Laboratories — Livermore, CA — Apr 2010 – Present
- Principal Investigator of multiscale/multiphysics effort to predict and characterize environmentally-assissted intergranular fracture in Ni.
- Characterize grain boundaries using atom-probe tomography.
- Champion for the deployment of the GRANTA MI materials database.
- Measure the deuterium permeability through various metals.
- Quantify hydrogen isotope trapping in Al-Cu alloys.
Postdoctoral Scholar, Sandia National Laboratories — Livermore, CA — Oct 2007 – Apr 2010
- Determined the fracture toughness and compressive behavior of ultra-fine-grained Al–Mg alloys and correlated these with observations from optical and electron microscopy.
- Assisted in fabrication and calibration of a deuterium permeation instrument.
- Measured the deuterium permeability through various Al–Mg alloys, 304L stainless steel, SiC (through Ultramet’s SBIR), Au-coated Be, and other materials.
- Quantified Mg grain broundary segregation in nanocrystalline Al–Mg powders and consolidated, ultra-fine-grained alloys using atom-probe tomography (APT).
Ph.D. Candidate, Northwestern University — Evanston, IL — Sep 2002 – Oct 2007
- Utilized APT and transmission elctron microscopy (TEM) to measure the composition and morphology of nanometer-scale precipitates in Al–Sc–RE (RE=Dy, Er, Y) and Al–Er.
- Measured elevated temperature creep and the ambient temperature strength (yield stress and microhardness) of Al–Sc–RE alloys and oxide-dispersion-strengthened Al–Sc(–Zr).
- Predicted mechanical performance using a novel dislocation creep model and by using APT reconstructions in dislocation dynamics simulations (DISLOC2D) of yield strength.
- Developed software for APT data analysis (ENVELOPE (originally by M. K. Miller and J. Hyde), ELLIPSOIDFIT , INTERPPT , and others).
- Helped maintain Northwestern University Center for Atom-Probe Tomography.
- Co-lead developer of refbase, a free/open source web-based reference manager.
Research Assistant, California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, CA — Jan 2000 – Sep 2002
- Programmed the SMARTS EXPERT SYSTEM to assist in neutron diffraction experiments.
- Studied beam divergence of the SMARTS neutron diffractometer.
- Assisted in collection and analysis of neutron diffraction data for residual stresses.
Research Assistant, LIGO — Hanford, WA — Jun 1999 – Sep 1999
- Formulated optimal epoxy bonding techniques to couple magnets and standoffs to test masses used in the high vacuum Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatories.
Education
Northwestern University — Evanston, IL — Sep 2002 – Oct 2007
Doctor of Philosophy, Materials Science and Engineering
Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Al–Sc with Rare-Earth Element or Alumina Additions
Advisors: Profs. David C. Dunand David N. Seidman
California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, CA — Sep 1998 – Jun 2002
Bachelor of Science, Engineering and Applied Science
Advisor: Prof. Ersan Üstündag

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