SNS-HFIR User Group Executive Committee

Contact the SHUG Executive Committee: shug-ec@email.ornl.gov

2026 SHUG EC Officers:

Chair: Weiwei Xie, Michigan State University
Vice Chair: TBD
Secretary: TBD
Past Chair: Hillary Smith, Swarthmore Collegey

All Members:

Kent GriffithKent Griffith

Assistant Professor
UC San Diego
Term expires December 2027

Research Interests: Complex oxides, intercalation and ion exchange, mixed conductors, noncentrosymmetric structures

  

Kirill KovnirKirill Kovnir

Professor of Chemistry
Iowa State University and Faculty Scientist at Ames National Laboratory
Term expires December 2028

Research Interests: His research in hard condensed matter involved synthesis and exploration of structure-properties relationships for various types of functional crystalline inorganic materials. His group utilizes elastic and inelastic neutron scattering techniques to probe features of crystal and magnetic structure of complex solids.

Izabela KrukIzabela Kruk

Manufacturing Manager / Chemist
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Term expires December 2027

Research Interests: Materials Chemistry, Surface science of actinides, Neutron Scattering

  

Anne-Frances MillerAnne-Frances Miller

Distinguished Prof. of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Chemistry
University of Kentucky
Term expires December 2027

Research interests: Enzymatic redox catalysis, electron transfer and conformational coupling within multidomain protein complexes. Scattering, spectroscopy and biochemical studies to elucidate bases for activities.

Allen ScheieAllen Scheie

Staff Scientist
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Term expires December 2026

Research interests: Strongly correlated electrons, low-dimensional and quantum magnetism, probing solid state quantum entangelment.

 

  

Nairiti SinhaNairiti Sinha

Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Penn State
Term expires December 2026

Research interests: Design, synthesis and high-throughput characterization of biomimetic polymer-based assemblies and bioinspired nanocomposites for developing next-generation materials

Hillary SmithHillary Smith

Assistant Professor of Physics
Swarthmore College
Term expires December 2026

Research interests: Dynamics and relaxations in liquids and glasses; ion and electron transport in energy storage materials.

  

Thao T. Tran Thao T. Tran

Dean’s Associate Professor
Clemson University, Department of Chemistry
Term expires December 2028

Research interests: Research Interests: Her research team studies quantum materials, focusing on leveraging electronic structure and physical principles to address key challenges in quantum information science and energy technology.

Dr. Xin WangDr. Xin Wang

Postdoctoral Research Associate
Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Term expires December 2027

Research interests: Neutron/X-ray diffraction and total scattering for complex functional ceramics, energy storage materials, and molten salt materials applicable to molten salt reactors.

  

Yishu WangYishu Wang

Assistant Professor
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Term expires December 2028

Research interests: Research Interests: Her research focuses on experimental development and verification of emergent phenomena in quantum spin systems.

Kathleen WeigandtKathleen Weigandt

Instrument Scientist
NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR)
Term expires December 2026

Research interests: Neutron scattering and rheology applied to complex fluids and heterogenous materials for fundamental science and industrial applications. 

  

Weiwei XieChair: Weiwei Xie

Associate Professor of Chemistry
Michigan State University
Term expires December 2027

Research interests: Exploring new quantum materials, high pressure X-ray and neutron scattering, high pressure synthesis of novel quantum materials.