Tommy Sewell

Professor, Chemistry

Phone: 573-882-7725

Email: sewellt@missouri.edu

Department Page: See Tommy Sewell's Department Page

Biography

Dr. Tommy Sewell is a Full Professor in the chemistry department, adjunct Full Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and Co-director of the nascent MU Materials Science & Engineering Institute. He has been on the Chemistry faculty since 2008. Prior to moving to MU, Sewell spent nearly 15 years in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory (1993-2008). He was named Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2017 for his sustained contributions to the field of shock physics & chemistry, and serves on the editorial advisory boards for the Journal of Applied Physics and Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics.

A theoretical physical chemist by training and an interdisciplinary guy by inclination, Sewell’s research centers around theoretical and computational materials theory and simulation, focusing on physico-chemical phenomena that occur in materials on spatial scales ranging from nanometers to approximately 1 micron. Much of Sewell’s research deals with materials subjected to “extreme conditions” of high pressure, temperature, and deformation strain rate.

Sewell loves teaching and is a firm believer in the Honors College mission. At the undergraduate level, he has taught General Chemistry I and Physical Chemistry II several times apiece; most recently, CHEM 1320H. He has served on the Honors College curriculum committee since the fall of 2020.