Kiran Prasai

Bio/CV 

Kiran Prasai earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Ohio University in 2017, where he investigated the atomic and electronic structure of amorphous materials. His doctoral research was supported by the prestigious Donald Clippinger Fellowship, for demonstrating “excellence in research and creativity.” 
In 2017, Prasai joined the LIGO group at Stanford University, where he spent next six years studying optical coating materials for LIGO and other future gravitational-wave detectors. His research at Stanford centered on atomic structure modeling and x-ray scattering measurements of sub-micron amorphous films. His work on annealing-induced effects in amorphous coatings played a key role in the development of TiO₂-doped GeO₂/SiO₂ coatings, which are being developed as part of LIGO’s A+ upgrade.
In 2024, Prasai joined Kennesaw State University as an Assistant Professor, leading a research group focused on amorphous materials and optical coatings. His group is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, a global consortium of over 1,000 scientists advancing gravitational-wave astrophysics. He is also an active member of the American Physical Society (APS) and the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and maintains close collaborations with distinguished researchers across the U.S. and internationally.

Research Interests

 Dr. Prasai leads the Amorphous Materials and Optical Coatings (AMOC) Lab at Kennesaw State University. His research group specializes in the rational design of disordered materials, with a particular focus on amorphous thin films for advanced technological applications. The lab develops and employs complementary computational and experimental methods to investigate the relationships between atomic structure, processing conditions, and material properties.

A major focus of the AMOC Lab is the development of advanced optical coating materials for gravitational-wave detectors, including LIGO and the proposed next-generation Cosmic Explorer observatory. The group investigates how the atomic structure of sub-micron-thick coatings is influenced by fabrication conditions, chemical composition, and thermal annealing, and how these structural changes affect mechanical dissipation and optical performance. To address these questions, the lab develops realistic, high-fidelity atomic models informed by experimental measurements, including X-ray and electron diffraction. The group combines first-principles calculations, molecular dynamics simulations, machine-learning interatomic potentials, and synchrotron X-ray scattering experiments to investigate atomic structure, thermal relaxation, mechanical loss, and optical properties.

Beyond gravitational-wave detector coatings, the AMOC Lab investigates amorphous semiconductors, solid electrolytes, and other functional disordered materials, exploring the connections between atomic-scale structure and their electronic, optical, and transport properties.

Our research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF), including collaborative research through the Center for Coatings Research (CCR). The lab works closely with researchers at leading universities, national laboratories, and international scientific collaborations, including the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.

Selected Research Publications and Preprints (For full list, click here) 

1. K. Prasai, J. Jiang, K. Lee, L. Yang, M. Chicoine, S. Khadka, A. Markosyan, A. Mehta, C. S. Menoni, S. Patel, F. Schiettekatte, B. Shyam, G. Vajente, H.-P. Cheng, M. M. Fejer, and R. Bassiri, Atomic Structure of Amorphous Optical Coatings of TiO₂-doped GeO₂ by Grazing-Incidence Total X-ray Scattering Measurements, submitted to Physical Review Materials (2026), arXiv:2605.27462.

2. K. Prasai, K. Lee, R. Bassiri, A. Davenport, D. A. Drabold, M. M. Fejer, A. Markosyan, C. S. Menoni, and S. Tait, Intrinsic Defects in Amorphous Optical Coatings of TiO₂-doped GeO₂ for Gravitational-Wave Detectors, submitted (2026), arXiv:2608.15386.

3. K. Prasai, B. LaBell, K. H. Lee, A. Mehta, B. Shyam, M. M. Fejer, and R. Bassiri, Network Topology of Hafnia-Based Amorphous Optical Coatings by Grazing-Incidence X-ray Total Scattering and Atomic Modeling, submitted (2026), arXiv:2608.15011.

4. J. Jiang, R. Zhang, K. Prasai, R. Bassiri, J. N. Fry, M. M. Fejer, and H.-P. Cheng, Machine learning assisted modeling of amorphous TiO₂-doped GeO₂ for advanced LIGO mirror coatings, Physical Review Materials 9, 105604 (2025). arXiv:2503.21701

5. M. Kim, P. Kim, R. Bassiri, K. Prasai, M. M. Fejer, and K.-H. Lee, ePDFpy: A Python-based interactive GUI tool for electron pair distribution function analysis of amorphous materials, Computer Physics Communications 299, 109137 (2024).

6. K. Prasai, K. Lee, B. Baloukas, H.-P. Cheng, M. Fazio, L. Martinu, A. Mehta, C. S. Menoni, F. Schiettekatte, R. Shink, B. Shyam, G. Vajente, M. M. Fejer, and R. Bassiri, Effects of elevated-temperature deposition on the atomic structure of amorphous Ta₂O₅ films, APL Materials 11(12), 121112 (2023).

7. S. Khadka, A. Markosyan, K. Prasai, A. Dana, L. Yang, S. C. Tait, I. W. Martin, C. S. Menoni, M. M. Fejer, and R. Bassiri, Cryogenic mechanical loss of amorphous germania and titania-doped germania thin films, Classical and Quantum Gravity 40, 205002 (2023).

8. K. Prasai, R. Bassiri, H.-P. Cheng, and M. M. Fejer, Glass transition temperatures of binary oxides from ab initio simulations, APL Materials 11(8), 081113 (2023).

9. A. Mishkin, J. Jiang, R. Zhang, H.-P. Cheng, K. Prasai, R. Bassiri, and M. M. Fejer, Hidden structure in the medium-range order of amorphous zirconia-tantala films, Physical Review B 108, 054103 (2023).

10. R. Thapa, K. Prasai, R. Bassiri, M. M. Fejer, and D. A. Drabold, Realistic computer models of amorphous ZrO₂:Ta₂O₅: Structural, optical, and vibrational properties, Physical Review B 105, 224207 (2022).

11. G. Vajente, L. Yang, A. Davenport, M. Fazio, A. Ananyeva, L. Zhang, G. Billingsley, K. Prasai, A. Markosyan, R. Bassiri, and M. M. Fejer, Low Mechanical Loss TiO₂:GeO₂ Coatings for Reduced Thermal Noise in Gravitational Wave Interferometers, Physical Review Letters 127, 071101 (2021).

12. L. Yang, G. Vajente, M. Fazio, A. Ananyeva, G. Billingsley, A. Markosyan, R. Bassiri, K. Prasai, M. M. Fejer, and C. S. Menoni, Enhanced Medium Range Order in Vapor Deposited Germania Glasses at Elevated Temperatures, Science Advances 7, eabh1117 (2021).

13. J. Jiang, A. S. Mishkin, K. Prasai, R. Zhang, M. Yazback, R. Bassiri, M. M. Fejer, and H.-P. Cheng, Analysis of two-level systems and mechanical loss in amorphous ZrO₂-doped Ta₂O₅ by non-cage-breaking and cage-breaking transitions, The Journal of Chemical Physics 154(17) (2021).

14. K. Prasai, R. Bassiri, H.-P. Cheng, and M. M. Fejer, Annealing-induced changes in the atomic structure of amorphous silica, germania and tantala using accelerated molecular dynamics, physica status solidi (b) 258(9), 2000519 (2021).

15. K. Prasai, J. Jiang, A. Mishkin, B. Shyam, S. Angelova, R. Birney, D. A. Drabold, M. Fazio, E. K. Gustafson, G. Harry, S. Hoback, J. Hough, C. Lévesque, I. MacLaren, A. Markosyan, I. W. Martin, C. S. Menoni, P. G. Murray, S. Penn, S. Reid, R. Robie, S. Rowan, F. Schiettekatte, R. Shink, A. Turner, G. Vajente, H.-P. Cheng, M. M. Fejer, A. Mehta, and R. Bassiri, High precision detection of change in intermediate range order of amorphous zirconia-doped tantala thin films due to annealing, Physical Review Letters 123, 045501 (2019).

16. K. Prasai, K. N. Subedi, K. Ferris, P. Biswas, and D. A. Drabold, Spatial projection of electronic conductivity: The example of conducting bridge memory materials, physica status solidi (RRL) – Rapid Research Letters 12, 1800238 (2018).

17. K. Prasai, G. Chen, and D. A. Drabold, Amorphous to amorphous insulator-metal transition in GeSe₃Ag glass, Physical Review Materials 1, 015603 (2017).

18. K. Prasai, P. Biswas, and D. A. Drabold, Electrons and phonons in amorphous semiconductors, Semiconductor Science and Technology 31, 073002 (2016).

19. K. Prasai, P. Biswas, and D. A. Drabold, Sculpting the band gap: A computational approach, Scientific Reports 5, 15522 (2015).