Honors and Awards

Ahmed Arabi Hassen of ORNL has been named a Fellow of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, recognizing his leadership and contributions to nondestructive evaluation and composite manufacturing. His work has advanced innovative manufacturing technologies while helping accelerate the adoption of advanced materials across industry.

Addison Malone, a recent graduate of the Christian Academy of Knoxville's homestudy program, has been named the 2026 UT-Battelle Scholarship recipient. She will attend the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this fall to study chemistry, building on her STEM achievements and ORNL internship experience with plans to pursue a career in nuclear forensics.

ORNL received five of nine awards from the U.S. Department of Energy's Transportation Technologies Office at the 2026 Annual Merit Review for innovations in transportation efficiency, vehicle technologies, and advanced manufacturing. The honors included two individual Distinguished Achievement Awards and three team awards recognizing advances in commercial vehicle modeling, fuel economy resources, rare-earth-free electric motors, advanced truck materials, and computational welding technologies.

Tyler Spano’s impact on the field of mineralogy is anything but small. So, when a newly discovered mineral, modest in size but significant in meaning, was named spanoite in her honor, it became a fitting tribute to her contributions to the field.

Robert Wagner, associate laboratory director for the Energy Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Henry Laurence Gantt Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). 

Igor Remec of ORNL was named a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, the organization’s highest honor, for his decades of contributions to nuclear safety, neutron science, and the development of ORNL’s Second Target Station.

ORNL recognized five small businesses and one employee during its annual Small Business of the Year Awards for their outstanding support of the lab’s mission in fiscal year 2025. The awards highlighted contributions in engineering, staffing, fabrication and high-performance computing, while underscoring ORNL’s commitment to partnering with small and diverse businesses.

Rigoberto Advincula has earned the Frank Tiller Award from the American Filtration and Separations Society for leadership in engineering and education. A polymer researcher at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a Governor’s Chair Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Advincula was honored during an awards presentation at FILTCON26, held May 12–15 in Pittsburgh.

Tomas Grejtak, an R&D associate staff lab scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been selected for the Early Career Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE).

ORNL researcher Vivek Sujan was named Inventor of the Year for his contributions to advanced mobility and energy technologies. His work has helped improve vehicle efficiency, power systems and transportation innovation. Sujan was recognized at Battelle’s Celebration of Solvers in May.