Boatner is leading a new ORNL effort on the formation of "smart" nanophase ceramic surfaces. He has either authored or co-authored more than 370 published papers and has been granted 13 U.S. patents.
He was previously named a fellow of the American Physical Society, American Society of Materials (ASM) International, American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Institute of Materials of the United Kingdom. Prior awards for his research include three R&D 100 Awards, a Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer and the Jacquet-Lucas Award of ASM International. Boatner was named a corresponding member in 1998 of the Academy of Sciences of Mexico and is the review editor of The Journal of Materials Research.
He earned a doctorate in 1966 in physics and mathematics from Vanderbilt University. He and his wife, Martha Alice, live in Oak Ridge. They have three adult sons.
ORNL is a DOE multiprogram research facility and is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.