Md. Shafiqul Islam

Research Interests

Materials Informatics & Autonomous Labs

Bayesian optimization, AI for materials discovery and experimental automation, computational materials science, and thermodynamics — with a lingering soft spot for number theory and linear algebra from an earlier life as a math enthusiast.

Education

Academic Background

• Ph.D., Materials Science & Engineering — University of Toronto (Fall 2026 – Ongoing). Advisor: Dr. Jason Hattrick-Simpers. Research area: self-driving laboratories, AI for materials discovery, Bayesian experiment design.
• M.Sc., Materials Science & Engineering — Texas A&M University (Fall 2023 – Spring 2025). Advisor: Dr. Raymundo Arroyave. Research: data-driven design for 3D printing — semi-autonomous multi-objective Bayesian optimization to optimize performance, manufacturability, sustainability, and decision-makers' preference.
• B.Sc., Materials & Metallurgical Engineering — Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) (Feb 2017 – May 2022). Thesis: ML-aided materials selection for non-toxic single-junction perovskite solar devices using SCAPS-1D.

Experience

Research, Teaching & Training

• Graduate Research Assistant — AutoDIAL (Autonomous DIscovery of ALloys) Lab, University of Toronto (Fall 2025 – Ongoing). PI: Dr. Jason Hattrick-Simpers.
• Teaching Assistant — University of Toronto (Fall 2026). Course: AI Forensics: Trust, Bias, and Limits in Materials Modeling.
• Graduate Research Assistant — Computational Materials Science Lab, Texas A&M University (Fall 2023 – Fall 2025). PI: Dr. Raymundo Arroyave.
• Teaching Assistant — Texas A&M University (Fall 2024 – Spring 2025). Courses: Thermodynamics of Materials, Materials Design Studio.
• Research Assistant — Materials Research Center, BUET (Nov 2022 – Jun 2023). Project: sustainable energy applications of titania extracted from Cox's Bazar sand.
• Professional Trainee — GPH Ispat (Jan 2022). Industrial training on steelmaking processes.
• Professional Trainee — Bangladesh Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (Aug 2019 – Nov 2019). Training on metallography and crystallography.

Publications

Journal Articles & Preprints

1. M. S. Islam, D. Sarıtürk, M. Mulukutla, B. Vela, A. Elsayed, A. Jarlöv, S. Kumar, D. Allaire, A. Elwany, I. Karaman, and R. Arróyave, “Bayesian Multi-Objective Co-Optimization of Performance and Manufacturability in BCC–B2 Refractory High Entropy Alloys,” submitted to Materials & Design.
2. A. Jarlöv, A. Elsayed, M. S. Islam, D. Sarıtürk, R. Garcia, R. Arróyave, and I. Karaman, “Exploration of Co-Hf Strengthened Refractory High Entropy Superalloys: On the Formation of Laves Phase,” submitted to Acta Materialia.
3. C. Katz, T.-Y. Yang, P. King, M. S. Islam, B. Vela, and R. Arróyave, “Jeweler-in-the-Loop: Personalized Alloy Color Optimization via Preference-Based Bayesian Optimization,” Digital Discovery, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 1700–1708, 2026. doi:10.1039/d6dd00009f
4. D. Singh, D. Sarıtürk, C. Le, M. S. Islam, R. Arroyave, and V. Attari, “DataScribe: An AI-Native, Policy-Aligned Web Platform for Multi-Objective Materials Design and Discovery,” arXiv preprint, Jan. 2026. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2601.07966
5. M. S. Islam, S. P. Padhy, D. Allaire, and R. Arróyave, “The Kernel Manifold: A Geometric Approach to Gaussian Process Model Selection,” arXiv preprint, Jan. 2026. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2601.05371
6. A. Rauf, S. Sarker, M. S. Islam, H. A. Jame, S. Ahsan, M. T. Islam, S. S. Nishat, K. M. Shorowordi, J. Carbonara, S. Ahmed, “Effect of Br incorporation on the electronic & photovoltaic properties of Sn-based perovskites: A multiscale investigation utilizing first principles approach and simulation, aided by ML,” Solar Energy, vol. 253, pp. 375–388, Mar. 2023. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2023.02.034
7. M. S. Islam, M. T. Islam, S. Sarker, H. A. Jame, S. S. Nishat, M. R. Jani, A. Rauf, S. Ahsan, K. M. Shorowordi, H. Efstathiadis, J. Carbonara, and S. Ahmed, “ML Approach to Delineate Impact of Materials Properties on Solar Cell Device Physics,” ACS Omega, vol. 7, no. 26, pp. 22263–22278, Jul. 2022. doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c01076
8. M. S. Islam and S. Bhowmick, “Linear Algebraic Approach to Formulate a New Recurrence Relation for Bernoulli Numbers from the Power-sum of Natural Numbers,” Punjab University Journal of Mathematics, vol. 53, no. 8, pp. 537–555, Aug. 2021. doi:10.52280/pujm.2021.530802
9. H. A. Jame, S. Sarker, M. S. Islam, M. T. Islam, A. Rauf, S. Ahsan, S. S. Nishat, M. R. Jani, K. M. Shorowordi, J. Carbonara, and S. Ahmed, “Supervised ML for SCAPS-based Quantitative Analysis for the Discovery of Optimum Br Doping (MASnI_3−xBr_x),” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 502–516, Dec. 2021. doi:10.1021/acsami.1c15030

International Conferences

Presentations

• “Probabilistic Printability Assessment Framework for Materials and Process Co-Design in RHEA” — accepted for presentation; unable to attend due to visa-related circumstances. TMS Spring 2026
• “A Novel Multi-Objective Bayesian Optimization Framework for High-throughput Design of RHEA” — poster presentation, March 23–27, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada. TMS Spring 2025
• “Accelerating Experimental Materials Research with Machine Learning” — November 29–December 2, 2021, Boston, Massachusetts. MRS Fall 2021

Extracurricular

Beyond the Lab

This site is a materials science student's CV, but not only that — a few of the other things that take up my time and attention.

Mathematical Problem Solving

Long before Bayesian optimization, I was chasing identities in number theory and linear algebra for their own sake. That habit produced a peer-reviewed paper deriving a new recurrence relation for Bernoulli numbers from the power-sum of natural numbers — still the piece of work I'm proudest of outside my main field:

Islam & Bhowmick, 2021 — read the paper

Socio-Political Activity

I care about what happens back home and show up for it — organizing and joining demonstrations with the Bangladeshi community, including protests against authoritarianism and in solidarity with students during Bangladesh's 2024 uprising.

Uploads

Files & Media

Browse by category below.

Contact

Get in Touch

The best way to reach me is by email: info@shafiqmme.com.