Associate Professor | University of North Texas | United States
Dr. Diana Berman, Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of North Texas and Director of the Tribology Center at the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute, is a leading expert in functional nanostructured materials and tribology. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Physics from North Carolina State University and her B.S. in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Her professional trajectory spans key research roles at Argonne National Laboratory and leadership in academia, where she has directed transformative projects on multicomponent ceramics, carbon-based materials, and advanced coating technologies for friction and wear reduction. Dr. Berman’s research focuses on synthesis, structure–property relationships, and environment–material interactions, with a prolific record of publications, patents, and invited talks contributing significantly to the advancement of superlubricity and nanomaterials. Her work has earned her numerous prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award, and recognition among the Top 2% of scientists worldwide. She actively serves on editorial boards such as Nature Scientific Reports and Tribology Letters, and holds leadership positions in professional organizations including the American Vacuum Society and the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. A dedicated mentor and innovator, she has supervised graduate and undergraduate researchers, contributed to major research funding initiatives, and advanced international collaborations. Professionally: 7,091 Citations, Documents 119, Documents 33 in Scopus.
Profiles: Scopus | ORCID | Google Scholar
Featured Publications
1. Berman, D., Erdemir, A., & Sumant, A. V. (2014). Graphene: A new emerging lubricant. Materials Today, 17(1), 31–42.
2. Berman, D., Deshmukh, S. A., Sankaranarayanan, S. K. R. S., Erdemir, A., & Sumant, A. V. (2015). Macroscale superlubricity enabled by graphene nanoscroll formation. Science, 348(6239), 1118–1122.
3. Berman, D., Erdemir, A., & Sumant, A. V. (2013). Few layer graphene to reduce wear and friction on sliding steel surfaces. Carbon, 54, 454–459.
4. Berman, D., Erdemir, A., & Sumant, A. V. (2013). Reduced wear and friction enabled by graphene layers on sliding steel surfaces in dry nitrogen. Carbon, 59, 167–175.
5. Berman, D., Erdemir, A., & Sumant, A. V. (2018). Approaches for achieving superlubricity in two-dimensional materials. ACS Nano, 12(3), 2122–2137.