Yuchen Jiang
President
Yuchen is a computational liquid metal fluids engineer working on nuclear fusion reactor blanket R&D, Liquid Metal Magnetohydrodynamics phenomenon investigation and Liquid Metal Plasma Facing Component simulation. He received his MS and PhD in mechanical engineering from UCLA in 2023, majoring in fluid mechanics and minoring in heat and mass transfer. During his free time, he likes hiking, playing table tennis, billiards, pickleball, tennis, and badminton. He served as the vice president of Students’ Association Union during his undergrad studies, and he’s very excited about engaging with people.
Sajjan Pokhrel
Vice-President
Sajjan has an interdisciplinary background in engineering and energy. Sajjan earned his PhD in mining engineering from UBC. During his PhD, Sajjan was part of the Transdisciplinary Cohort for Climate Action where he collaborated with eight diverse PhD students, eight faculties, and a local government to address complex energy transition issues. Prior to his PhD, Sajjan received his MSc in clean energy engineering from Wright State University, and his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tribhuvan University. Sajjan is passionate about energy systems, energy transition, and energy policy.
Ryan Chesser
Secretary
Ryan is in the Nuclear and Extreme Environment Measurements Group in the Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division. His work focuses on characterizing thermophysical properties of molten salt systems for fuel and coolant. This work feeds into ORNL's Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database. Ryan completed his PhD in nuclear engineering at The Ohio State University in 2023, where he tested piezoelectric surface acoustic wave devices and characterized their response to temperature an neutron flux transients. Ryan enjoys bowling, golfing, rock-climbing, cooking, and his three cat roommates.
Geeta Kumari
New Hire Chair
Geeta is in the Advanced Fuel Fabrication and Instrumentation Group within the Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate. She earned her PhD in materials science and engineering from Michigan State University. Currently, her research interests focus on characterizing additively manufactured nuclear materials through advanced electron microscopic techniques. Geeta is serving as the collaboration lead for the East Tennessee Chapter of Women in 3D Printing (Wi3DP). She enjoys cooking and playing badminton.
Parul Raghuvanshi
Research Co-Chair
Parul is a postdoctoral research associate in the Materials Theory Group in the Materials Science and Technology Division. She earned her PhD in materials science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, in 2023. She employs computational tools and techniques to investigate the microscopic properties of materials and screen them for specific applications. In addition to her research, she also serves as the social chair for Women in Physical Sciences (WiPhy) outreach. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and actively participates in volunteer activities.
Rongge (Nikki) Zou
Research Co-Chair
Rongge (Nikki) works in the Surface Chemistry and Catalysis Group in the Chemical Sciences Division of the Physical Sciences Directorate. She earned her PhD in biological systems engineering from Washington State University in 2024, and now she’s diving into the exciting world of nonequilibrium energy transfer as part of the NEETER project in ORNL. In this cutting-edge research, she is working to uncover the mechanisms behind innovative methods that make chemical reactions faster, cleaner, and more efficient. She enjoys Chinese dance, K-pop music, hiking outdoors, and spending time with friends.
Jenny Warnock
Social & Well-being Co-Chair
Jenny received her PhD in biomedical sciences from Florida State University in 2022, where she studied structure and function of the 26S proteasome. From there, she went on to a short postdoc at Emory University where she researched ribosome biogenesis. Currently, she is working on the BRaVE project studying viral protein complex structures. Jenny’s hobbies including yoga, crafting, and reading, and she is a big advocate for mental health.
Shane Franklin
Social & Well-being Co-Chair
Shane is a postdoctoral researcher in BESSD at ORNL. He completed his PhD at The University of Delaware in Dr. Yan Jin's Soil Physics group. His research focused on soil carbon with special interest in microbial processes in soil pores. He currently works on the Plant-Microbe Interfaces project and performs experiments with microfluidics to further understand microbial interactions in their habitat, the pore space.
Sarah Szakas
Outreach Chair
Sarah joined ORNL in August 2024 after earning her PhD in analytical chemistry at Iowa State University. Her research interests include single particle characterization and analysis via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with emphasis in forensic and environmental samples. She is part of the Chemical and Isotopic Mass Spectrometry Group at ORNL and works in the Ultra-Trace Forensic Science Center. Besides being in the lab, she is interested in science communication and outreach and enjoys being outdoors and reading a good book!
Spenser Cox
Communications Chair
Spenser completed her PhD in chemical and biological engineering at The University of Alabama in 2023. Her work focused on characterizing the consequences of biological fluid shear stress in breast cancer metastasis and cancer stem cell biology. Presently, she is in the Molecular and Cellular Imaging group in the Biosciences Division at ORNL. Her main research interests are in microscopy of biological systems--confocal, electron, atomic force, and (hopefully) more. Outside the lab, you can find her hosting trivia, crocheting, and baking.
John Vant
Sponsorship Chair
John is a member of the Multiscale Biomedical Systems Group within the Computational Science and Engineering Division. He earned his PhD in chemistry from Arizona State University in 2024. His research focuses on using molecular dynamics simulations to explore structure-function relationships and advanced free energy estimation techniques. John also employs multicellular simulations to study the impact of genotype on phenotypic outcomes at the tissue scale. Originally from Montana, John enjoys hiking and the outdoors.
Moody Altamimi
Advisor
Moody is the founding director for the Office of Research Education (ORE) at ORNL. ORE supports ORNL’s aspiration to be the world’s premier R&D institution by fostering an inclusive ecosystem for thriving research careers, ensuring impactful student experiences, increasing recognition of our staff for their impact, and facilitating strategic engagement with consortia and universities, enhancing lab-wide diversity efforts and future workforce development.
Laurie Varma
Advisor
Laurie serves as Early Career Programs Specialist in the Office of Research Education. She supports the Oak Ridge Postdoctoral Association Executive Committee in their efforts to make an impact on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory campus, providing guidance related to projects, events, planning, reporting, and budget.