Neutron Sciences Directorate staff were among those honored at the annual Awards Night event hosted on November 9 by UT-Battelle LLC, the management contractor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy.
A breakthrough electron microscopy technique that detects subtle changes in the weight of proteins at the nanoscale received an award for Research Accomplishment. This new technique directly identifies isotopes in amino acids at the nanoscale without damaging the samples, which could open a new pathway for deeper, more comprehensive studies of the basic building blocks of life. The research team included Jong Keum (below, second from right), a neutron scattering scientist from NScD’s Materials Engineering Group, as well as ORNL researchers Jordan Hachtel, Juan Carlos Idrobo Tapia, Jingsong Huang, Jacek Jakowski, IIja Popovs, and Santa Jansone-Popova. Credit: ORNL
Awards Night winners are selected by committees and approved by the laboratory director. Nominations are made by division, program, or directorate managers.
Additional Awards Night winners from NScD include:
Mission Support
Charles Carathers (below, third from right), a group leader in NScD’s Research Reactors Division, along with Prashant Jain, David Cook, David Chandler, Joel McDuffee, Richard Howard, Franklin Curtis, Benjamin Betzler, Trevor Howard, Eva Davidson, Marc-Olivier Delchini, Elvis Dominguez-Ontiveros, Emilian Popov, Kurt Smith, and Brian Weston (below, third from left), named director of the NScD Research Reactors Division starting Dec. 20—For distinguished performance and dedication in determining the causes of the first fuel element failure in 52 years of HFIR operation. The team’s outstanding thermal hydraulics and structural analysis included modeling and simulation experts from three ORNL directorates and enabled restarting HFIR for neutron science and other missions. Credit: ORNL
Postdoctoral Researcher
Gabriele Sala (below), a postdoctoral researcher in NScD’s Instrument Systems Group—For outstanding contributions to neutron sciences at ORNL, spanning condensed matter research, neutron instrument design, software development, and exemplary user support. His studies of rare earth–based magnets demonstrate the importance of geometry and spin-orbit coupling in quantum materials, and his design and simulation of the planned CHESS direct-geometry inelastic spectrometer provides a compelling argument for the Second Target Station at the Spallation Neutron Source. Credit: ORNL
