Elizabeth Piersall
Graduate student, Electrification and Energy Infrastructure Division
Ph.D. student, Data Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Bredesen Center)
Hometown: Fredericksburg, Virginia
What are you working on at ORNL?
My research focuses on examining approaches to using signal processing and data science tools to combine noisy data from collaborative sensor systems measuring ambient parameters. We hope to be able to better interpret and predict measured parameters — for example, to use measured incident sunlight to predict power generation from solar panels.
What would you like to do in your career?
What I have enjoyed most so far, and believe I will continue to enjoy, is finding ways to contribute what I’ve learned to address existing needs, whether applying data science to technical challenges in energy or through science outreach and mentorship of future scientists.
Why did you choose a career in science?
I have always enjoyed the process of learning how things work. Part of the appeal of data science to me was that it can be applied to many fields and problems, giving me the opportunity to continue learning new things and contributing what I know to new challenges.
Zachary Tener
Postdoc, Materials Science and Technology Division
Ph.D., Inorganic Chemistry, Florida State University
Hometown: North Liberty, Iowa
What are you working on at ORNL?
I work in the Advanced Processing Laboratory, researching the effects of thermomagnetic processing on materials. I utilize convection or induction heating inside a static magnetic field, up to 9 Tesla and 2,000°C. My primary project involves miniaturizing this technology to create an in situ sample environment for neutron beamlines.
What would you like to do in your career?
I am inspired to utilize magnetism to solve a breadth of issues in manufacturing and environmental, energy and critical materials sciences. I want to develop new technology and solutions to address challenges in these fields towards sustainable science. I am also passionate about promoting scientific interest in students.
Why did you choose a career in science?
I was given encouragement by a mentor early in life, along with a childhood fascination of NASA and astronauts. Though this never passed, my attraction to magnetism at the interface of chemistry, physics and materials science developed during my undergraduate studies and continues to my present research.
Sara Sultan
Graduate student, Buildings and Transportation Science Division
Ph.D. student, Energy Science Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Bredesen Center)
Hometown: Haripur, Pakistan
What are you working on at ORNL?
I am working on thermal energy storage integrated with heat pumps. I work on designing control strategies to reduce peak energy and carbon emissions associated with air conditioning in residential buildings.
What would you like to do in your career?
I am interested in pursuing a career in climate change policy. I want to communicate with a wider audience and use my knowledge and experience to influence technology.
Why did you choose a career in science?
I loved physical sciences. I was curious to learn about the working phenomena behind simple equipment we use in daily life. I was most interested in optics, climate studies and fluid dynamics. I studied physics during my undergrad and then chose energy studies for research.
Rinkle Juneja
Postdoc, Materials Science and Technology Division
Ph.D., Computational Materials Science, Materials Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Hometown: Punjab, India
What are you working on at ORNL?
My research focuses on advancing a comprehensive view of heat transport properties of materials for energy applications such as thermoelectrics, barrier coatings, cooling electronics and spintronics. Besides being relevant to ORNL’s mission of energy solutions, our work would be useful for the broader community focused on designing energy-efficient devices.
What would you like to do in your career?
I want to build a cutting-edge research team in the area of heat management to bring transformative changes and clean, innovative solutions in global energy resources. Along with my research work, I am very enthusiastic about mentoring and sharing my knowledge with the next generation of scientists.
Why did you choose a career in science?
Being curious about everything around me made me choose science. Learning at least one new thing every day is the beauty of science for me. The potential to make direct impact on the community and the opportunity to address challenging problems in a team spirit keep me excited as a researcher.
Xun Li
Postdoc, Materials Science and Technology Division
Ph.D.: Mechanical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh
Hometown: Yichang, China
What are you working on at ORNL?
My research at ORNL focuses on vibrational and transport properties of quasiparticles in quantum materials for energy-related applications. I calculate phonons and their interactions among themselves and with spins from first principles, which are crucial to understanding emergent phenomena in quantum materials.
What would you like to do in your career?
I want to be a computational materials scientist focusing on materials properties such as thermal and magnetic properties. I hope to provide fundamental understanding of the physics and apply them to practical applications for various materials.
Why did you choose a career in science?
I have always been fascinated by how things work. I believe that science and technology are primarily productive forces, and fundamental understanding leads to applications. I chose energy engineering in college, as energy is the future, and then got interested in thermal science to study how materials transfer heat.
Lynnicia Massenburg
Graduate student, Neutron Scattering Division
Ph.D. student, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Penn State
Hometown: Aston, Pennsylvania
What are you working on at ORNL?
I am researching the protein structure of a plant cellulose synthase, a membrane protein that makes cellulose used in biofuel production. I use small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering techniques complemented with cryo-electron microscopy to describe cellulose synthase oligomerization and provide rational insights in biofuel crop improvement.
What would you like to do in your career?
I am fascinated by the pursuit of membrane protein structural biology research in the bioenergy field. I seek to mentor future scientists in structural biology and give technical consulting in membrane protein purification and structural biology to other groups as well to open the field for more discovery.
Why did you choose a career in science?
I was interested in pursuing an art degree in college until I realized that there is art in science. I appreciate the creativity and serendipity in the scientific process. A research experiment is the canvas, and my pipette is the paint brush.
