Assistant Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ESH 4103
(205) 975-0584

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Research and Teaching Interests: Matter under extreme conditions; planetary science; additively manufactured materials, impact crater and meteorite studies, materials characterization; X-ray diffraction; photon-based spectroscopies; high-pressure experimentation; static and dynamic (gas-gun and laser) experiments

Office Hours: M/W/F 2-3 p.m., and by appointment

Education:

• B.A., College of Charleston, Physics
• B.S., University of South Carolina, Geophysics
• M.A., Ph.D., State University of New York - Stony Brook, Geoscience

Dr. Melissa Sims joined the Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham as an assistant professor in the Fall of 2024. Previously, she was an NSF EAR Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and had a visiting scientist appointment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She completed her doctorate at Stony Brook University in 2018.

Dr. Sims’ research focuses on planetary interiors, meteorite impacts, and the behavior of materials undergoing extreme conditions. Her work is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries surrounding solar system formation and planetary evolution, and it investigates the unique mechanical, thermal, and chemical responses of a variety of materials subjected to shock conditions.