Snjezana Balaz

Dr. Snjezana Balaz - profile photo

Dr. Snjezana Balaz

Associate Professor

Physics, Astronomy, Geology, & Environmental Sciences

Ward Beecher Hall 2023

phone: (330) 941-7113

sbalaz@ysu.edu

Bio

Dr. Snjezana “Snow” Balaz has been a dedicated member of the Youngstown State University faculty since August 2013. A native of Zagreb, Croatia, she earned her B.S. in Physics from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and her Ph.D. in Chemical and Materials Engineering from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
At YSU, Dr. Balaz teaches in the Department of Physics, Astronomy, GIS, Geology, and Environmental Science (PAG²ES), and serves as a Regular Member of the Graduate Faculty, contributing to the Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. program. Her scholarly work focuses on surface science, particularly the structure of thin films, semiconductors, and nanoclusters. Among her notable achievements, she was the first to demonstrate that boron carbide—a novel semiconductor—functions as both a neutron voltaic and photovoltaic diode, a breakthrough that led to the development of a solid-state neutron detector now utilized by Homeland Security.
Dr. Balaz is also a dedicated mentor, having guided numerous undergraduate students from both the Physics and Chemical Engineering departments. Her mentorship has led to student presentations at national and international conferences and co-authorship in peer-reviewed journals.
Her teaching and service have earned her several distinctions, including the 2023 Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2020 Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Service. Passionate about the advancement of science, Dr. Balaz strives to nurture independent thinkers and skilled researchers, whether they pursue graduate studies, enter industry, or take unconventional paths in the STEM fields.
Dr. Balaz brings a unique perspective to her work and is committed to encouraging a broad range of voices in science. As a visible female and LGBTQIA+ scientist, she serves as a role model to students and colleagues. She believes science is not simply a collection of right and wrong answers, but an evolving dialogue—and she continues to add her voice to that conversation at Youngstown State University. Active both on campus and in the community, she is a proud ambassador of YSU.

Research Interests

Properties of advanced electronic material thin films, interfaces, nanoclusters, single crystal complex oxides, semiconductors, and polycrystalline photovoltaics at the nano scale.

Teaching Interests

I love teaching. Whether we are conscious of it or not, from an action as simple as opening a door to driving to work, we are immersed in physics and math daily. From an early age, it was important to me to know how everything around us works, and with physics, we are able to accomplish that. I strive to show my students that they use physics every day, not just in fancy electronics and sterile labs, but also in doing simple things like sitting in a swing, which is an example of a pendulum. I am a lifetime learner, and I want to share that passion. While I believe both lecture and small groups are effective, for me, keeping lectures short and having students actively participate either in small groups or having them give small presentations to their peers creates a more effective learning environment. For example, to teach a physics concept, I give a small lecture and assign word problems, then have students divide into groups, possibly setup experiments, and then report their process and solution to the class. I find students are more likely to explore concepts and discuss how to find solutions in those small groups. I strive to set up my classes, so students become active participants and collaborators in their education. Labs are also an ideal setting for teaching and learning, where the process of solving a problem or conducting an experiment is just as crucial, if not more so, than a final answer. I work with my students to fully understand the concepts and processes that lead to the solution. I strongly believe in the actual doing of science as an important way of learning and, as an experimentalist myself, am enthusiastic regarding Youngstown State University’s strong encouragement of research for their students.

  • 2007

    Ph D, Chemical and Materials Engineering

    University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Dissertation/Thesis Title — "“Electronic structure and evolution of dehydrogenation of orthocarborane, metacarborane, paracarborane, ortho-phosphacarborane and meta-phosphacarborane”"

  • 2005

    MS, Physics

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • 2001

    BS, Physics

    Northland College

  • 1997

    Other

    Peta Gimnazija, Zagreb

  • 2023

    YSU

    Distinguished Professor Award For Excellence In Teaching

  • 2020

    YSU

    Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Service

  • 2019

    YSU

    Assessment Mini-Grant Award

  • 2018

    YSU

    Dean's Professional Development Reassigned Time

  • 2018

    YSU

    Assessment Mini-Grant Award

  • 2017

    YSU

    Research Professorship Award

  • 2016

    YSU

    Dean's Professional Development Reassigned Time

  • 2015

    YSU

    Dean's Professional Development Reassigned Tim

  • 2009

    DIET XII

    Workshop Fellowship, Pine Mountain, Georgia

  • 2004

    AVS

    Dorothy M. and Earl S. Hoffman Travel Grants

  • 2003

    CAMD

    Summer Workshop Fellowship, Louisiana State University,

  • 2023 -

    Physics, Astronomy, Geology, and Environmental Science (PAGES), Youngstown State University

    Associate Professor

  • 2013 - 2023

    Physics, Astronomy, Geology, and Environmental Science (PAGES), Youngstown State University

    Assistant Professor

  • 2009 - 2013

    The Ohio State University

    Postdoctoral Researcher

  • 2007 - 2007

    University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Researcher

  • 2007 - 2009

    University of California-Riverside

    Postdoctoral Fellow

  • 2023

    "Utilizing Technology For Specific Mindfulness Training To Lower Test Anxiety And Increase Understanding Of Physics Concepts"

    S. Balaz, N. Zayas

  • 2023

    "Orientation-Dependent Native Defect Segregation at SrTiO3 Single Crystal Surfaces."

    S. Balaz, L. Brillson

  • 2023

    "Orientation - Dependent Defect Segregation and Dipole Formation at SrTiO3 Surfaces"

    S. Balaz, L. Brillson

  • 2023

    "Examining the Bonding Behavior of 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane on Titanium Using Three Biocompatible Solvents"

    H. Martin, S. Balaz, K. Shields, D. Bernard, B. Schubert

  • 2021

    "Deep level defect spectroscopies of complex oxide surfaces and interfaces"

    J. Zhang, S. Balaz, Z. Zeng, D. Schlom, L. Brillson

  • 2019

    "A γ to α type transition of CuO species over CeO2-SiO2 composites supported CuO catalysts"

    S. Hossain, E. Zell, S. Balaz, R. Wang

  • 2018

    "A comparative study of CO oxidation over Cu-O-Ce solid solutions and CuO/CeO2 nanorods catalysts"

    S. Hossain, E. Azeeva, K. Zhang, E. Zell, D. Bernard, S. Balaz, R. Wang

    Applied Surface Science, Elsevier BV, volume 455, p. 132-143

  • 2018

    "Support structure effect on CO oxidation: A comparative study on SiO2 nanospheres and CeO2 nanorods supported CuOx catalysts"

    S. Hossain, Y. Almesned, K. Zhang, E. Zell, D. Bernard, S. Balaz, R. Wang

  • 2013

    "Electronic Structure of Tantalum Oxynitride Perovskite Photocatalysts"

    S. Balaz, S. Porter, P. Woodward, L. Brillson

    Chemistry of Materials, American Chemical Society (ACS), volume 25, issue 16, p. 3337-3343

  • 2013

    "Impact of Native Point Defects and Ga Diffusion on Electronic Properties of Degenerate Ga-Doped ZnO"

    D. Doutt, S. Balaz, L. Isabella, D. Look, K. Leedy, L. Brillson

  • 2013

    "Heterjunction Band offsets and dipole formation at BaTiO3/SrTiO3 interfaces"

    S. Balaz, Z. Zeng, L. Brillson

  • 2013

    "Depth resolved studies of SrTiO3 defects using x-ray excited optical luminescence and cathodoluminescence"

    R. Rosenberg, Y. Choi, K. Vijayalakshmi, M. Kareev, J. Tchakhalian, S. Balaz, L. Brillson

  • 2011

    "Low energy alkali ion scattering investigation of Au nanoclusters grown on silicon oxide surfaces"

    S. Balaz, J. Yarmoff

  • 2010

    "Comparison of K+ and Li+ ion scattering from Au nanoclusters deposited on SiOx"

    S. Balaz, J. Yarmoff

  • 2007

    "The Influence of the Molecular Dipole on the Electronic Structure of Isomeric Icosahedral Dicarbadodecaborane and Phosphacarbadodecaborane Molecular Films"

    S. Balaz, A. Caruso, N. Platt, D. Dimov, N. Boag, J. Brand, Y. Losovyj, P. Dowben

  • 2007

    "The Electronic Structure of 1,7-PCB10H11 Molecular Films"

    S. Balaz, N. Boag, N. Platt, D. Dimov, J. Brand , P. Dowben

  • 2007

    "Doping of boron carbides with cobalt, using cobaltocene"

    L. Carlson, D. LaGraffe, S. Balaz, A. Ignatov, Y. Losovyj, J. Choi, P. Dowben , J. Brand

  • 2007

    "Atomic Layer Deposition of Lanthana Thin Films Using High-Purity Lanthanum Amido Precursors"

    R. Inman, S. Schuetz, C. Silvernail, S. Balaz, P. Dowben, G. Jurisch, J. McAndrew , J. Belot

  • 2006

    "The Electronic Structure of 1,2-PCB10H11 Molecular Films: Precursor to a Novel Semiconductor"

    S. Balaz, D. Dimov, N. Boag, K. Nelson, B. Montag, J. Brand, P. Dowben

  • 2006

    "The All Boron Carbide Diode Neutron Detector: Comparison with Theory"

    A. Caruso, P. Dowben, S. Balkir, N. Schemm, K. Osberg, R. Fairchild, O. Flores, S. Balaz, A. Harken, B. Robertson , J. Brand

  • 2006

    "Electronic Structure and Vibrational Spectra of B10C2 Based Clusters and Films"

    K. Park, M. Pederson, L. Boyer, W. Mei, R. Sabirianov, X. Zeng, S. Bulusu, S. Curran, J. Dewald, E. Day, S. Adenwalla, M. Diaz, L. Rosa, S. Balaz, P. Dowben

  • 2006

    "Boron Carbide Heterojunction Diodes: Temperature Effects, Band Offsets, and Intrinsic and Extrinsic Carriers"

    O. Flores, S. Balaz, J. Brand

  • 2006

    ""

    A. Caruso, D. Feng, Y. Losovyj, D. Shulz, S. Balaz, L. Rosa, A. Sokolov, B. Doudin , P. Dowben

  • 2005

    "The Coadsorption and Interaction of Molecular Icosahedra with Mercury"

    C. Ilie, S. Balaz, L. Rosa, J. Zhang, P. Lunca-Popa, C. Bianchetti, R. Tittsworth, J. Brand, B. Doudin , P. Dowben

  • 2005

    "Evidence for Multiple Polytypes of Semiconducting Boron Carbide (C2B10) from Electronic Structure"

    P. Lunca-Popa, J. Brand, S. Balaz, L. Rosa, N. Boag, M. Bai, B. Robertson, P. Dowben

  • 2004

    "The Surface Photovoltage Effects on the Isomeric Semiconductors of Boron-Carbide"

    A. Caruso, S. Balaz, B. Xu, P. Dowben, A. McMullen-Gunn, J. Brand, Y. Losovyj, D. McIlroy

  • 2004

    "The Heteroisomeric Diode"

    A. Caruso, R. Billa, S. Balaz, J. Brand , P. Dowben

  • 2018 - present

    Officer, President/Elect/Past
    Ohio-Region Section American Physical Society (OSAPS)

  • 2017 - present

    Board of Directors of a Company
    Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana

  • 2017 - present

    Officer, President/Elect/Past
    Ohio-Region Section American Physical Society (OSAPS)

  • 2016 - present

    Officer, President/Elect/Past
    Ohio-Region Section American Physical Society (OSAPS)

  • 2015 - present


    OSAPS

  • 2015 - present

    Officer, President/Elect/Past
    Ohio-Region Section American Physical Society (OSAPS)

  • 2014 - present

    Member
    Faculty Online Learning Community (FOLC)

  • 2009 - present

    Reviewer, Journal Article
    Scientific Journal Referee

  • 2001 - present

    Reviewer, Journal Article
    Nanotechnology, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A and B, New Journal of Physics

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