Research

My primary research question is: how can we apply and improve computer simulations to better understand and predict the behavior of fluids at the molecular level, and determine their macroscopic properties? This research involves techniques such as Molecular Dynamics simulations, coarse-graining models, multi-scale physics, etc. and includes the development of new methods and algorithms.

My main line of research is LLCPs in one-component liquids.

Liquid-liquid phase transitions, in water and other tetrahedral liquids

Project in collaboration with Arizona State University, Princeton University, University of Houston, and many others.

We employ computer simulations and statistical physics to understand the origin of liquid-liquid phase transitions and their relationship with anomalies typical of liquid water.

Compared with other liquids, water has many anomalies. For example the density anomaly: when water is cooled below 4 C the density decreases rather than increases. This and other anomalies have also been found to occur in a few other one component liquids, sometimes in conjunction with the existence of a liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) between a low-density liquid (LDL) and a high-density liquid (HDL).

Teaching

With my enthusiasm for science and teaching I create a fun and exciting learning environment that stimulates my students to work hard and learn as much as they can. My goal is to have my students enjoy learning about physics and how the world works, and help them be better prepared for their studies and their future career.

Current courses at Pace University:

PHY-102/112 Physics 2, Spring semesters (4 credits)

PHY-101/111 Physics 1, Fall semesters (4 credits)

Past courses at Boston University:

PY105 Elementary Physics 1, Summer-I 2018 (4 credits)

PY106 Elementary Physics 2, Summer-I 2018 (4 credits)

PY105 Elementary Physics 1, Spring 2018 (4 credits)

PY106 Elementary Physics 2, Fall 2017 (4 credits)

PY105 Elementary Physics 1, Summer-II 2017 (4 credits)

PY105 Elementary Physics 1, Spring 2017 (4 credits)
Elementary Physics 1 (CAS PY 105) sequence satisfies premedical requirements; presupposes knowledge of algebra and trigonometry. Principles of classical and modern physics, mechanics, conservation laws, and heat.
Students must register for three sections: a lecture section, a discussion section, and a laboratory section.

PY106 Elementary Physics 2, Fall 2016 (4 credits)
Elementary Physics 2 (CAS PY 106) satisfies premedical requirements; presupposes knowledge of algebra and trigonometry. PY106 covers the principles of classical and modern physics: electricity and magnetism, waves, optics, light, atomic and nuclear physics.
Students must register for three sections: a lecture section, discussion section, and laboratory section.

Curriculum Vitae

Key skills

Modeling complex molecular systems, from liquid water to crystal lattices to large cross-linked network structures

Molecular Dynamics expert, able to develop home-made code as well as adding code to existing software such as Gromacs and LAMMPS

Able to explain and teach difficult concepts in a manner anyone can understand

Expert in computer systems, from developing parallel computing software to fixing hardware to building RAIDs

Honors & Awards:

2017: Schlumberger / Boston University Research Fellowship Grant (extended)

2016: Schlumberger / Boston University Research Fellowship Grant

2015: Teaching-As-Research (TAR) Fellowship (Boston University)

2010: Chair's book award for Excellence in Teaching (Boston University)

2006: Teaching Fellowship (Boston University)

2004: CERN summer student (CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)

Education:

Boston University, Boston MA, USA Sep. 2006 -- Sep. 2014
PhD, Physics
Advisor: H. Eugene Stanley
Dissertation: Liquid-liquid phase transitions and water-like anomalies in liquids (PDF)

University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands Sep. 1999 -- May 2006
Master of Applied Physics (Cum Laude)
Advisor: Eric Laenen
Thesis: The influence of several Standard Model extensions on the production of single top quarks in hadron collisions (PDF)

Research Experience:

Pace University, New York NY, USA Sep 2018 -- present
Assistant Professor

Boston University, Boston MA, USA June 2016 -- Aug. 2018
Postdoctoral Associate
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Visco-Elastic Surfactants

Boston University, Boston MA, USA Nov. 2014 -- Apr. 2016
Postdoctoral Associate
Atomic-Scale to Meso-Scale Simulation Studies of Thermal Ageing and Irradiation Effects in Fe-Cr Alloys

Boston University, Boston MA, USA 2010 -- Sep. 2014
PhD research
Study of liquid water and its anomalies

Boston University, Boston MA, USA 2010 -- Aug. 2018
System administrator at the Center for Polymer Studies

NIKHEF, Amsterdam, Netherlands Sep. 2005 -- Aug. 2006
Intership at National Institute for Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics (NIKHEF)

Conference Presentations:

Invited talk: Gibbs free energy of the modified WAC model, in comparison to that of liquid water,
2017 Roma Tre Workshop on Water under Extreme Conditions, in Rome (Italy), June 2017

Invited talk: Criteria for existence of the liquid-liquid phase transition in tetrahedral liquids,
2015 Roma Tre Workshop on Water under Extreme Conditions, in Rome (Italy), June 2015

Phase flipping and crystallization in the ST2 water model,
CMCSN water meeting at UC Davis, June 2013

Time fluctuations in density and dielectric constant of low and high density water,
American Physical Society (APS) March meeting at Boston MA, March 2012

Phase flipping in ST2 water near its hypothesized liquid-liquid critical point,
Mini Stat Mech meeting at UC Berkeley, January 2012

Teaching Experience:

Assistant Professor at Pace University Sep. 2018 -- present
Teaching PHY-101/111 (Physics 1) and PHY-102/112 (Physics 2)

Physics Lecturer at Boston University Jan. 2016 -- Aug. 2018
Teaching PY105 (Elementary Physics 1) and PY105 (Elementary Physics 2) to 80-100 pre-medical students.
This position includes the supervising of several Teaching Fellows and Learning Assistants.

Navy ROTC physics/math tutor Jan. 2009 -- June 2016
Navy Unit represents Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern University.

Teaching Fellow at Boston University Sep. 2006 -- May 2009
Teaching several courses including: General Physics I, General Physics II, Quantum Mechanics I

Miscellaneous Interests:

Computer science: AI, machine learning, computer vision, robotics, etc.

Languages: fluent in English and Dutch, basic in Spanish, French, and German.

Publications

Click on a link below to access the PDF of one of these manuscripts:

JCP Erik Lascaris, Francesca Marchese, and Nicole Gaspar,
Crystallization and the Liquid-Liquid Critical Point in Nonbonded Modified-WAC Models (PDF),
J. of Chem. Phys. 161, 044503 (2024)
doi:10.1063/5.0215601

JCP Erik Lascaris,
The Effect of Intra-Molecular Bonds on the Liquid-Liquid Critical Point in Modified-WAC Models,
J. of Chem. Phys. 157, 204501 (2022)
doi:10.1063/5.0123159

Eric P. Chang, Erik Lascaris, Alina Pituch, Angel Flores, and Maddie Eng,
Allosteric Regulation of the Mobile Loop in Lactate Dehydrogenase from Plasmodium Falciparum,
The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Vol. 36, Issue S1, R3985
First published: 13 May 2022
doi:10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R3985

JCP Renjie Chen, Erik Lascaris, and Jeremy C. Palmer,
Liquid-liquid Phase Transition in an Ionic Model of Silica (PDF),
J. of Chem. Phys. 146, 234503 (2017)
doi:10.1063/1.4984335

P. Gallo, K. Amann-Winkel, C. A. Angell, M. A. Anisimov, F. Caupin, C. Chakravarty, Erik Lascaris, T. Loerting, A. Z. Panagiotopoulos, J. Russo, J. A. Sellberg, H. E. Stanley, H. Tanaka, C. Vega, L. Xu, and L. G. M. Pettersson,
Water: A Tale of Two Liquids (PDF),
Chem. Rev. 116, 7463-7500 (2016)
doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00750

PRL Erik Lascaris
Tunable Liquid-Liquid Critical Point in an Ionic Model of Silica (PDF),
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 125701 (2016)
doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.125701

JCP Erik Lascaris, M. Hemmati, S. V. Buldyrev, H. E. Stanley, and C. A. Angell,
Diffusivity and Short-Time Dynamics in Two Models of Silica (PDF),
J. of Chem. Phys. 142, 104506 (2015)
doi:10.1063/1.4913747

JCP Erik Lascaris, M. Hemmati, S. V. Buldyrev, H. E. Stanley, and C. A. Angell,
Search for a Liquid-Liquid Critical Point in Models of Silica (PDF),
J. of Chem. Phys. 140, 224502 (2014)
doi:10.1063/1.4879057

PRL J. Luo, L. Xu, Erik Lascaris, H. E. Stanley, and S. V. Buldyrev,
Behavior of the Widom Line in Critical Phenomena (PDF),
Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 135701 (2014)
doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.135701

JCP T. A. Kesselring, Erik Lascaris, G. Franzese, S. V. Buldyrev, H. J. Herrmann, and H. E. Stanley,
Finite-size scaling investigation of the liquid-liquid critical point in ST2 water and its stability with respect to crystallization (PDF),
J. of Chem. Phys. 138, 244506 (2013)
doi:10.1063/1.4808355

Erik Lascaris, T. A. Kesselring, G. Franzese, S. V. Buldyrev, H. J. Herrmann, and H. E. Stanley,
Response Functions near the Liquid-Liquid Critical Point of ST2 Water (PDF),
AIP Conf. Proc. 1518, 520 (2013)
doi:10.1063/1.4794628

PRE Erik Lascaris, G. Malescio, S. V. Buldyrev, and H. E. Stanley,
Cluster formation, waterlike anomalies, and re-entrant melting for a family of bounded repulsive interaction potentials (PDF),
Phys. Rev. E 81, 031201 (2010)
doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.81.031201

J. Colle, Erik Lascaris, and I. C. Tánczos,
The HiSPARC project; Science, technology and education (PDF),
AIP Conf. Proc. 944, 44 (2007)
doi:10.1063/1.2818548

Biography