Rate My Professor Kevin Stokes

Dr. Kevin Stokes serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics at Kennesaw State University, located on the Marietta Campus. He is an experimental materials physicist whose research centers on the thermal transport, electrical transport, optical, and magnetic properties of nanostructured materials and composites. This work involves the synthesis and fabrication of materials alongside basic transport, magnetic, and magneto-optical measurements. Stokes earned his Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1995, M.S. from the University of New Orleans in 1989, and B.S. from Mississippi State University in 1985. In his leadership role, he oversees the department within the College of Science and Mathematics, supporting faculty, staff, and student research initiatives that have led multiple graduates to pursue doctoral studies.

Stokes' investigations delve into quantum confinement effects, where the physical confinement of electrons, excitons, and phonons within nanoparticles modifies optical, magnetic, and electronic properties. Surface effects play a crucial role, as a significant portion of atoms resides on nanoparticle surfaces, rendering properties highly sensitive to surface chemistry. His studies on composite materials examine interfaces that form energy barriers for charge carriers and phonons, leveraging quantum confinement and selective energy scattering to customize material properties. Key research areas include thermoelectric materials, nanocomposites, nanostructuring for enhanced thermoelectric performance, half-Heusler alloys, bismuth telluride, nanoparticle inclusions, charge transport, and thermal conductivity reduction. Notable publications encompass 'Correlation between microstructure and drastically reduced lattice thermal conductivity in bismuth telluride/bismuth nanocomposites for high thermoelectric figure of merit' (2015), 'Distribution of impurity states and charge transport in Zr0.25Hf0.75Ni1+xSn1-ySby nanocomposites' (2015), 'Effect of NiTe Nanoinclusions on Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te3' (2012), 'Simultaneous Large Enhancements in Thermopower and Electrical Conductivity of Bulk Nanostructured Half-Heusler Alloys' (2011), and 'Enhancement in Thermoelectric Figure of Merit in Nanostructured Bi2Te3 with Semimetal Nanoinclusions' (2011). His scholarly output has accumulated over 1,900 citations.