About

Stephen Kerr is a PhD candidate in computational materials science at Queen’s University, supervised by Laurent Karim Béland in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He holds an MSc in Materials Science (2023) and a BSc in Chemistry (2021) from Ontario Tech University.

His research applies density-functional theory and molecular dynamics to investigate defect formation, segregation, and transport in engineering alloys. Current work examines how chromium influences vacancy concentration and grain-boundary aluminum segregation in nickel-based alloys—key factors affecting oxidation resistance in high-temperature applications. Earlier research explored ion-pair trapping mechanisms in functionalized organic systems for energy storage and light detection applications. He uses tools such as Quantum ESPRESSO, LAMMPS, and NWChem alongside Python (NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib) on Linux/HPC environments with SLURM.

Stephen teaches undergraduate courses in materials science and chemistry at Queen’s University, with prior experience coordinating laboratory sections for first- and second-year engineering and science courses at Ontario Tech. His teaching emphasizes reproducible computation, hands-on problem-solving, and responsible integration of AI tools in scientific workflows. Outside research and teaching, he experiments with local language models and generative tools to develop safer, verifiable workflows for learning and scientific communication.