Dr. Ramana Chintalapalle has been appointed as the new Director of the Ion Beam Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University of Albany. He will begin on September 1, 2026. Dr. Chintalapalle currently serves a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of the Center for Advanced Materials Research at the University of Texas, El Paso. His research expertise is towards developing and/or engineering advanced structural materials for application in the energy production, storage and conversion, utilization and management. Dr. Chintalapalle’s is extensive contributions are towards a deeper understanding of multifunctional materials physical/chemical/electronic behavior, manufacturing and associate mechanics at the reduced (micro/nano) dimensionality, with materials/device fabrication, characterization and performance evaluation playing a significant role in his research. His research also focuses on a thin-film/surfaces/interfaces growth and plasma-based advanced manufacturing of next generation materials, which will have direct application in power generation system, batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. He has been involved with various research projects related to nanomaterials, ceramic coatings, and surface/interface engineering of advanced materials. Dr. Chintalapalle earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Applied Physics and his M.S. in Physics and Electronics Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, and his B.S. in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry from Sri Krishnadevaray University.