Recognizing the people behind ORNL’s Impact
At ORNL, recognition reflects the people and teams whose work moves science, technology, and operations forward. Our staff are honored both within the laboratory and by the broader scientific and engineering community for achievements in research, innovation, leadership, and service.
Awards
From major international awards to laboratory honors like the UT-Battelle Awards, these recognitions highlight the contributions that strengthen our mission and demonstrate the value of ORNL’s work.
Nobel Prize
1963
Eugene Wigner
Wigner won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his work in the fundamental mathematics and physics of quantum mechanics.
2019
Clifford G. Shull
Shull was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics for the neutron diffraction technique he and Ernest Wollan developed nearly five decades earlier at ORNL.
National Academies
1930
Samuel C. Lind
1945
Eugene P. Wigner
1957
Alexander Hollaender
1959
David M. Bonner
1961
Seymour Benzer
1961
Alvin M. Weinberg
1962
William A. Arnold
1966
Ray D. Owen
1966
Norman H. Giles
1970
Charolotte Auerbach
1973
Richard B. Setlow
1973
William L. Russell
1974
Jacob Furth
1974
David M. Prescott
1975
Dan L. Lindsley
1975
Clifford G. Shull
1975
August H. Doermann
1976
Franklin W. Stahl
1977
Roderick K. Clayton
1977
J. Herbert Taylor
1978
Oscar L. Miller Jr.
1983
Mary-Lou Pardue
1984
N. Edward Tolbert
1986
Liane B. Russell
1995
Gerald D. Mahan
1998
Audrey Stevens Niyogi
2006
E. Ward Plummer
2003
Jack Dongarra
1974
Robert A. Charpie
1974
William D. Manly
1974
Floyd L. Culler Jr.
1975
Alvin M. Weinberg
1976
Milton C. Edlund
1978
Herbert G. MacPherson
1986
Charles D. Scott
1988
Frank L. Parker
1990
Murray W. Rosenthal
1990
James D. Callen
1993
Alvin W. Trivelpiece
1994
John H. Gibbons
2001
Jack J. Dongarra
2004
Chain-Tsuan Liu
2005
Allan S. Hoffman
2005
Jeffery Wadsworth
2011
Ramamoorthy Ramesh
2012
Steven J. Zinkle
2014
George M. Pharr
2016
Yilu Liu
2018
Amit Goyal
2019
Kathy McCarthy
2020
Susan Hubbard
2020
Thomas R. Kurfess
2022
Nancy Dudney
DOE Office of Science Honors and Awards
2000
Sheldon Datz
For his “pioneering studies in the fields of crossed-beam and molecular beam chemistry and atomic physics, channeling of ions in solids, and recent insightful experiments using the apparatus of particle physics to cast light on the chemistry of the universe.”
1994
Liane Russell
“For her outstanding contributions to genetics and radiation biology, including her discovery of the chromosomal basis for sex determination in mammals and her contributions to our knowledge of the effects of radiation on the developing embryo and fetus. Her findings have been the benchmark for the study of mutations in mammals and genetic risk assessment worldwide.”
1998
Richard B. Setlow
“For his pioneering and far-reaching contributions to the fields of radiation biophysics and molecular biology, beginning with the discovery and conceptualization of the processes of DNA repair that have had an impact on research in genetics, recombination, mutation, and carcinogenesis.”
1983
Alexander Hollaender
“For his unique role in the creation of the field of radiation biology, for his leadership as Director of the Biology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, for his promotion of scientific exchange between the United States and many less developed countries, and for scientific discoveries that first pointed to the nucleic acids as the genetic materials and to the existence of repair mechanisms.”
1980
Alvin Weinberg
1976
William L. Russell
“For his outstanding contributions during a long and distinguished career to the quantitative evaluation of the genetic effects of radiation in mammals which serve as a major scientific base for national and international standards for radiation protection of human populations; for his major contributions to the principles of genetic theory; and most recently, for his vigorous efforts to evaluate in animals the mutagenic potential of chemical pollutants arising from non-nuclear energy sources.”
1958
Eugene P. Wigner
“For contributions to nuclear and theoretical physics, to nuclear reactor development, and to practical applications of atomic energy.”
2015
Brian Wirth
“For transformational advances in computational multiscale modeling of radiation effects in materials, and for their impact to fission and fusion energy technologies.”
2014
John C. Wagner
“For groundbreaking theory and development of consistent, accurate, and efficient Monte Carlo computational solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation over the complete domain, and for its broad application to complex real world radiation transport problems.”
2012
Amit Goyal
“For pioneering research and transformative contributions to the field of applied high temperature superconductivity, including fundamental materials science advances and technical innovations enabling large-scale applications of these novel materials.”
2007
Steven J. Zinkle
“For significant contributions to the scientific basis for understanding the effects of radiation on the properties of materials, and for applying this understanding to the establishment of performance limits of materials in radiation environments.”
1995
Gerard M. Ludtka
“For significant contributions to materials technology through the development and implementation of super-plastic forming of uranium alloys and through the development of a method to predict the effects of quenching on nucro-structure and residual stresses. These contributions improved designs, reduced cost, increased efficiency, and minimized waste in the production of uranium weapons components.”
1988
Chain T. Liu
“For pioneering research and transformative contributions to the field of applied high temperature superconductivity, including fundamental materials science advances and technical innovations enabling large-scale applications of these novel materials.”
1987
J. Robert Merriman
“For his outstanding, technical contributions and leadership in the field of uranium enrichment and fuel cycles, particularly his development of the fluorocarbon absorption process, improvements to gaseous diffusion technology, and the development of the advanced gas centrifuge and the atomic vapor laser isotope separation process.”
1985
Anthony P. Malinauskas
“For his outstanding contributions to the analysis of fission product transport in nuclear reactor systems, particularly in the area of light water reactor (LWR) safety technology, including the clarification of issues that are of major significance in determining the safety logic to be applied to nuclear power reactors.”
1981
Fred R. Mynatt
“For the development of internationally recognized discrete-ordinate methods and generalized perturbation theory for radiation-shielding analysis and for leadership in the broad application of these methods to create safe and efficient shield design for reactor plants.”
1981
Paul B. Selby
“For development of a series of radiation-induced dominant skeletal mutations in the mouse that have important applications for the determination of risk estimates of low-level radiation exposure.”
1980
Charles D. Scott
“For the innovation and application of chemical engineering principles to the development and deployment of chromatographic separations systems, and advanced analytical and bio-analytical instrumentation, and for his significant contributions to nuclear fuel processing.”
1977
Dean A. Waters
“For his leadership and engineering inventiveness in the development of gas centrifuge systems for the enrichment of uranium, including the development of end caps, suspension systems, and supercritical modes of operation, and the introduction of improved materials and fabrication procedures.”
1976
Adolphus L. Lotts
“For his leadership and innovative contributions to the development of the thorium 233-uranium fuel cycle as applied to high temperature gas-cooled reactors and similar work aiding transuranic element production in the High Flux Isotope Reactor.”
1974
Chester R. Richmond
“For meritorious research on the radiation biology of internally deposited radionuclides, for outstanding contributions to the resolution of radiation protection problems, and for significant administrative contributions to the AEC’s research program.”
1973
James R. Weir Jr.
“In the field of reactor structural alloys, for his research leadership in characterizing physical and mechanical behavior, for his important contributions to understanding irradiation embattlement and swelling and for his translation of these research findings into the development of engineering alloys.”
1968
John B. Storer
“For his many contributions to the understanding of the relative biological effect of ionizing radiation and for his fundamental studies of the shortening of life span as a measure of radiation injury.”
1965
Floyd L. Culler Jr.
“For meritorious contributions to the development and processes for the recovery of irradiated nuclear fuels.”
1965
Arthur C. Upton
“For outstanding contributions to radiobiology and to the pathology of radiation injury.”
1960
Alvin M. Weinberg
“For outstanding contributions to nuclear reactor theory, for pioneering work in the design of production, research, and power reactors.”
2026
Lian Hong Gu
Ecological Society of America
Recognized for his work at the intersection of plant biology, ecosystem science, and environmental biophysics.
2023
Jason Gardner
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For his distinguished contributions to the understanding of frustrated magnetism using neutron scattering techniques, and for service to global publishing and to early career scientists through professional societies.
2023
Peter Thornton
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contributions to the field of global biogeochemical modeling, particularly for assessing the influence of coupled carbon and nutrient cycling on climate system feedback.
2023
Sandra Davern
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For contributions to the field of targeted radionuclide therapies, particularly for the development of nanomaterials to deliver radionuclides to cancer cells and novel methods assessing DNA damage and radiobiological effects.
2023
Hong Wang
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
For contributions to learning control and diagnosis for complex dynamical systems.
2022
Mark Lumsden
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For outstanding contributions to the understanding of magnetism in iron-based superconductors and other quantum materials through application of neutron scattering techniques.
2022
Shaun Gleason
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contributions in computer vision and data science and for exceptional organizational leadership resulting in scientific discoveries and industrial impact in the fields of biomedical and computational science.
2022
Mircea Podar
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contributions to the fields of microbial metagenomics and single-cell genomics and the application of novel technologies to the cultivation of microbes from diverse environments.
2022
Brian Fricke
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers
This award recognizes members who have served the ASHRAE faithfully and commendably for at least 10 years. Brian has conducted pioneering refrigerant research with national impact, including helping industry develop an environmentally friendly refrigeration system used in supermarkets nationwide.
2021
Govindarajan Muralidharan
National Academy of Inventors
For demonstrating a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating inventions in the areas of new high-temperature alloys, alloy processing, and sensors, that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.
2021
Budhu Bhaduri
American Association of Geographers
Recognized for his innovation, mentorship, and wide-ranging leadership with this appointment as an AAG Fellow. He is a world leader in innovation, development, and application of research in human dynamics, geographic data science, remote sensing, and scalable geocomputation.
2021
Andrew Lupini
American Physical Society
For groundbreaking contributions to the fields of electron microscopy and aberration-correction in scanning transmission electron microscopy and for the development of new image and spectroscopy capabilities, higher-resolution, and better sensitivity to atomic-resolution imaging and spectroscopy.
2021
Larry Baylor
National Physical Society
For experimental investigations in the physics of fueling magnetic fusion plasmas with hydrogenic pellets and the development and demonstration of pellet injection for use in the mitigation of edge localized modes and disruptions in fusion plasmas.
2021
Joseph Pickel
American Chemical Society
Recognized for distinguished service for contributions through service in leadership roles and the development of safety programming for the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
2021
Peter Fuhr
The International Society of Automation
For outstanding and acknowledged engineering or scientific attainments, peer evaluations leading to a recommendation for election by the Society Admissions Committee and elected by the Society’s Executive Board.
2021
Jagjit Nanda
The Electrochemical Society
For advanced individual technological contributions in the field of electrochemical and solid-state science and technology; and active membership and involvement in the affairs of The Electrochemical Society.
2021
Beth Armstrong
ASM International
For sustained research excellence in colloid science and synthesis enabling advancements in batteries, coatings, catalysts, and fuel cells, and for mentoring the next generation of materials scientists.
2021
Andrew Payzant
ASM International
For outstanding contributions to the characterization of non-equilibrium phenomena in materials using X-ray and neutron scattering techniques.
2021
Govindarajan Muralidharan
ASM International
For significant technical contributions in the research, development, and commercialization of high-temperature alloys for use in harsh environments prevalent in industrial process, energy, and automotive applications.
2021
Kathy McCarthy
American Nuclear Society
In recognition for her outstanding leadership, both nationally and internationally, leading to the advancement of fission reactor systems and fusion technologies.
2020
Ho Nyung Lee
Korean Academy of Science and Technology
Recognized for his excellent career achievements and distinguished contributions to the physics of oxide quantum heterostructures through innovative advancement of atomic-scale synthesis of thin film crystals.
2020
Michael McGuire
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contributions to materials physics, particularly the use of crystal growth and solid-state chemistry to discover and study thermoelectric, superconducting, magnetic and two-dimensional materials.
2020
Lawrence Satkowiak
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contributions to verification and security for nuclear and radiological material, which have helped protect the world from nuclear terrorism.
2020
Thomas Proffen
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For his contribution to the development of techniques to determine the local structure of materials and his leadership in promoting scientific excitement among young people.
2020
Georgia Tourassi
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contribution in biomedical informatics, particularly using artificial intelligence for diagnostic interpretation of medical images and clinical natural language processing.
2020
Jeffrey Vetter
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For leadership, innovation and distinguished contributions to high-performance computing, particularly to extreme-scale heterogeneous architectures and programming systems.
2020
Forrest Hoffman
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinction in developing, comparing and evaluating Earth system models with an emphasis on global biogeochemical cycles and feedbacks to the climate system.
2020
Paul Hanson
American Geophysical Union
For innovation in state-of-the-art field manipulations to assess the vulnerability and response of ecosystems to changing environmental conditions.
2020
David Kropaczek
American Nuclear Society
For the innovative development and application of computational methods to solve nuclear fuel cycle optimization problems for pressurized and boiling water reactor systems, including the first-of-a-kind application of large-scale combinatorial optimization techniques related to the design of fuel assemblies, core loading patterns, operating strategies, and multicycle planning.
2020
Brian Damiano
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
For exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession and to ASME.
2020
Sarah Cousineau
American Physical Society
For high-impact contributions to high-power proton accelerator research, inspiring workforce education and effective leadership in the physics of beams.
2020
William Peter
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
For outstanding contributions to the social, technological and educational aspects of the manufacturing profession.
2020
Juergen Rapp
American Nuclear Society
For technical leadership in fusion plasma surface interactions, including the development of impurity seeding to mitigate fusion power exhaust, and in the development of experimental facilities for studying plasma surface interactions at Magnum-PSI (Netherlands) and proto-MPEX (USA).
2020
Michael Kass
SAE International
For his distinguished leadership and technical accomplishments in land, air, and sea mobility through knowledge discovery of fuel and material compatibility impacting federal and private entity light-duty vehicle biofuel policies, leading creation of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Committee in SAE, and establishing a unique marine fuels and lubricants research platform.
2020
James Parks II
SAE International
For his technical innovation in catalyst systems for lean engine emissions control and for the development and application of advanced diagnostics to enable optimal performance of engine-emission control systems.
2020
Bryan Chakoumakos
Neutron Scattering Society of America
For significant contributions to the advancement of physical, chemical, earth and materials sciences through the application of the neutron diffraction, and for distinguished contributions to the promotion of neutron scattering in the United States.
2020
J. Lee Robertson
Neutron Scattering Society of America
For his leading role in upgrading the High Flux Isotope Reactor beam room thermal instruments and the design and construction of the cold instruments in the associated Guide Hall, efforts vital to the success of the HFIR user program.
2020
Christina Hoffmann
Neutron Scattering Society of America
For developing modern data analysis and visualization tools for neutron single-crystal crystallography.
2020
Thomas Proffen
Neutron Scattering Society of America
For seminal contributions to the fields of diffuse scattering and neutron total scattering, including the dedicated and sustained mentoring of women within those disciplines.
2020
Mircea Podar
American Academy of Microbiology
For scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology.
2020
Baohua Gu
Geochemical Society
For his seminal work on elucidating key molecular-scale mechanisms that govern biogeochemical cycling of contaminants, trace metals, and natural organic matter in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
2020
Michael P. Brady
NACE International
For leading the development of the alumina-forming austenitic family of heat-resistant stainless steels.
2020
Burak Ozpineci
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
For contributions to transportation electrification and wireless charging of electric vehicles.
2019
Jeremy Busby
American Nuclear Society
For his significant contributions to the understanding of materials performance and development of improved materials for a wide variety of nuclear reactor applications, including space reactors, fusion reactors, advanced fast reactors, and light water reactors. His diverse research has enabled development and deployment of improved structural materials for harsh environments, resulting in more safe, reliable, and cost-effective nuclear systems.
2019
Paul A. Taylor
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
For service to the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Section of AIChE. Paul has been a major contributor to nuclear forensics and treatment of high level radioactive waste.
2019
Craig Blue
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to manufacturing materials, processes, composites, additive manufacturing and energy efficiency to advance the nation’s economic competitiveness.
2019
Xiaoping Wang
American Crystallographic Association
2019
J. Michael Whitaker
Institute for Nuclear Materials Management
For extraordinary accomplishments in the field of nuclear material management and contributions to the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management.
2019
Scott O. Schwahn
Health Physics Society
2019
Sheng Dai
Materials Research Society
For his significant and sustained contributions in pioneering and developing novel synthetic methods for functional carbon materials for energy applications.
2019
Phillip F. Britt
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contributions in the field of fuel chemistry, service to the chemistry profession and leadership of a world-class research organization.
2019
Stephan Irle
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For distinguished contributions to the field of computational chemistry, particularly for modeling and predictions of electronic and molecular structure and complex systems dynamics.
2019
Bruce A. Moyer
American Association for the Advancement of Science
For exemplary service, research and technology development in the field of separation science and technology benefiting the environment, nuclear energy and critical materials.
2019
Karren More
Microscopy Society of America
For her innovative studies of materials for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells through the use of advanced analytical microscopy methods.
2018
Sergei Kalinin
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2017
Frank Liu
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2017
Jeff Vetter
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2012
Kenneth Tobin Jr.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Technology and Innovation Recognition
For more information, please refer to the resources listed below or contact ORNL’s Honors and Awards Program ([email protected]).
- 2025 R&D 100 Awards
- 2024 R&D 100 Awards
- 2023 R&D 100 Awards
- 2022 R&D 100 Awards
- 2021 R&D 100 Awards
- 2020 R&D 100 Awards
- 2019 R&D 100 Awards
- 2018 R&D 100 Awards
- 2017 R&D 100 Awards
- 2016 R&D 100 Awards
- 2015 R&D 100 Awards
- 2014 R&D 100 Awards
- 2013 R&D 100 Awards
- 2012 R&D 100 Awards
- 2011 R&D 100 Awards
- 2010 R&D 100 Awards
- 2009 R&D 100 Awards
- 2008 R&D 100 Awards
- 2007 R&D 100 Awards
- 2006 R&D 100 Awards
- 2005 R&D 100 Awards
- 2004 R&D 100 Awards
- 2003 R&D 100 Awards
- 2002 R&D 100 Awards
- 2001 R&D 100 Awards
- 2000 R&D 100 Awards
- 1999 R&D 100 Awards
- 1998 R&D 100 Awards
- 1997 R&D 100 Awards
- 1996 R&D 100 Awards
- 1995 R&D 100 Awards