Jacob L. Jones

Jacob Jones is the Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University and serves as Director of the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center and Director of the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN). Since 2012, he has been a Senior Visiting Fellow in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia.

Jones received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 1999 and 2001, respectively, and then a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Purdue in 2004. Jones then completed an international postdoctoral fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) at UNSW. Prior to joining NC State in 2013, he was an Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Florida.

Jones’ research involves developing structure-property-processing relationships in emerging functional materials including dielectric, ferroelectric, and functional nanomaterials, primarily using advanced X-ray and neutron scattering tools. Jones has published over 270 papers on these topics. Jones is a Fellow of the IEEE Society and has received an NSF CAREER award, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the IEEE Ferroelectrics Young Investigator Award, the 2019 NC State Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award, and the NC State College of Engineering George H. Blessis Outstanding Undergraduate Advisor Award. Jones is an elected member of the Research Leadership Academy at NC State, the faculty-driven epicenter of research leadership.

Jones has been a member of ACerS since 2002 and was elevated to ACerS Fellow in 2015. He participates in the Basic Science and Electronics Divisions and he founded and chairs the Carolinas Section of ACerS. He is senior author on two manuscripts awarded the Edward C. Henry “Best Paper” awards from the Electronics Division.

Recently, Jones has been leading several interdisciplinary teams and projects, including large centers. As two examples, the STEPS Center is a NSF-awarded Science and Technology Center focused on phosphorus sustainability and the RTNN is a Site in the NSF-funded National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure that supports nanotechnology facilities at three universities and their surrounding ecosystems.