Thomas Lograsso became Director of the Critical Materials Institute (CMI) in May 2020, having previously served as interim director and led research initiatives focused on material substitutes and crosscutting research at Ames Laboratory. His research centres on developing and synthesising advanced materials, including rare-earth-free alternatives to critical materials. He co-invented an iron-based substitute for the rare-earth-containing magnetostrictive alloy Terfenol-D, with potential applications in energy harvesting. Dr. Lograsso holds a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.