{"id":5,"date":"2021-04-21T13:32:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T17:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/balke\/home\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T10:29:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:29:04","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mse.ncsu.edu\/balke\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the Balke Research Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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The Balke Research Lab, under the direction of Nina Balke, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, explores nanoscale materials functionality driven by electric fields and potentials, with a focus on linking nanoscale behavior to macroscopic performance in energy and information technologies. Our work centers on electromechanical, mechanical, and transport phenomena in inorganic systems and across fluid\u2013solid interfaces. Using state-of-the-art atomic force microscopy (AFM), we emphasize quantitative imaging and parameter extraction to integrate with theory and complementary multi-modal characterization techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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AIF Director <\/h2>\n

\n Balke has led the Analytical Instrumentation Facility since 2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n

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Key Research Areas<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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Polar Properties<\/h3>\n \n\n \n\t \t

Studying how ferroelectric, piezoelectric and dielectric materials respond to electric fields, and how polarization can be tuned at the nanoscale for new functionality<\/p>\n\t \t \n

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Electrochemical Processes<\/h3>\n \n\n \n\t \t

Using AFM to track local ion insertion, strain and stiffness changes in electrode materials, linking nanoscale electro-chemo-mechanical coupling to battery and capacitor performance<\/p>\n\t \t \n

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Solid\u2013Liquid Interfaces<\/h3>\n \n\n \n\t \t

Exploring how electrical double layers and interfacial ion behavior control charge storage, gating and switching in energy and bioelectronic devices<\/p>\n\t \t \n

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Nina Balke, Principal Investigator<\/h2>\n

Nina Balke, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, earned her Ph.D. from the University of M\u00fcnster in Germany. She completed postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she later served as a research staff scientist before joining NC State in 2021. Balke\u2019s research focuses on nanoscale materials functionality, particularly electromechanical coupling, ionic transport, and solid\u2013liquid interface phenomena, with applications in energy storage and functional oxides.<\/p>\n \n

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Research Focus: Nanoscale Functional Materials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our areas of expertise include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n