CV

Education

Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 2023
M.Sc. Physics and new technologies, Haasan II university, 2017
B.Sc. Physics and applications, Hassan II university, 2015

Work experience

Jan 2025 - : Postdoctoral scientist @ Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)
- Design automated workflows for various atomistic simulations
- Develop analysis tools for interpreting atomistic simulation data
- Conduct simulations to investigate the mechanisms behind intermittent aging in glasses
- Work on topics related to glasses, including bioactive glasses, metallic glasses, and mechanical properties.
Jul 2022 - Dec 2024: Postdoctoral Research Associate @ Saarland University
- Performed atomistic simulations that uncovered new mechanisms of ice friction
- Conducted the largest realistic atomistic simulations of nanoindentation in metallic glasses, revealing a potential link between the fragile-to-strong liquid transition and room-temperature mechanical behavior
- Led side projects on the mechanical properties of glasses, bioactivity, phase separation in oxide glasses, and machine learning approaches to segregation spectrum analysis
- Served as a teaching assistant for five semesters, delivering two hours of lectures and two hours of tutorials per week to master’s students
- Created lecture content from scratch in theoretical materials physics and computational materials physics
- Designed and led tutorials, wrote exam questions, and supervised students throughout the courses
Jul 2021 - Dec 2022: Guest Scientist @ Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials
Apr 2018 - Apr 2022: Research Associate @ Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
- Performed atomistic simulations to uncover the origins of structural anisotropy in oxide glasses
- Studied the impact of defects on the mechanical behavior of oxide glasses
- I contributed to side projects on the mechanisms of dislocation motion in Laves phases, bioactivity in oxide glasses, and some other topics related to glasses.
- Participated as a teaching assistant in lectures by leading tutorial sessions and pre-courses on Linux and atomistic simulations

Publications

Revealing the void-size distribution of silica glass using persistent homology

Cold self-lubrication of sliding ice

Atila et al.. "Cold self-lubrication of sliding ice." Physical Review Letters. (2025).

Predicting grain boundary segregation in magnesium alloys: An atomistically informed machine learning approach

Solute Co-Segregation Mechanisms at Low-Angle Grain Boundaries in Magnesium: A Combined Atomic-Scale Experimental and Modeling Study

Plasticity of metallic glasses dictated by their state at the fragile-to-strong transition temperature

On the relationship between water adsorption and surface chemistry in soda‐lime silicate glasses

Short and medium range order in the rapidly solidified metallic liquid Ta: Atomic packing, connection modes, and pressure effect

On the structure and icosahedral interconnectivity in Tantalum monatomic glass produced under pressure

The origin of phase separation in binary aluminosilicate glasses

Pressure‐driven homogenization of lithium disilicate glasses

Atomistic origins of deformation-induced structural anisotropy in metaphosphate glasses and its influence on mechanical properties

Topology of anisotropic glasses from persistent homology analysis

Exploring solute behavior and texture selection in magnesium alloys at the atomistic level

The origin of deformation induced topological anisotropy in silica glass

Influence of Structure and Topology on the Deformation Behavior and Fracture of Oxide Glasses

The boson peak in silicate glasses: insight from molecular dynamics

Unveiling the mechanisms of motion of synchro-Shockley dislocations in Laves phases

Thermally activated nature of synchro-Shockley dislocations in Laves phases

Density-diffusion relationship in soda-lime phosphosilicate

Atomistic insights into the mixed-alkali effect in phosphosilicate glasses

Atomistic insights into the structure and elasticity of densified 45S5 bioactive glasses

Talks

Exploring the Structure and Topology of Oxide Glasses Under Pressure

August 08, 2025

Talk at Brazilian National High Pressure Meeting (Encontro Nacional de Altas Pressões - August 7-8th, 2025), Porto Alegre, Brazil

Dynamical and spatial heterogeneity cause multistep relaxation behavior of a model supercooled liquid and glass

July 21, 2025

Talk at 10th International Discussion Meeting on Relaxations in Complex Systems - 20- 25 July 2025 in Barcelona, Spain, Barcelona, Spain

Atomistic simulations of oxide glasses

March 09, 2023

Talk at Sultan Moulay Slimane University of Beni Mellal, Khouribga, Morocco, Khouribga, Morocco

Teaching

Theoretical Mterials Physics

Computer simulation for materials physicists