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Physics society honors six from ORNL

December 17, 2008 — This year's newly elected fellows of the American Physical Society (APS) include six research scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Chong Long Fu and Amit Goyal of the Materials Science and Technology Division, Randy Vane and Soren Sorensen of the Physics Division, and Andrey Zheludev and Pengcheng Dai of the Neutron Scattering Science Division all were named APS fellows in recognition of their outstanding contributions to physics. Fewer than one half of one percent of APS members are elected to become fellows.

Chong Long Fu was recognized for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of the electronic, magnetic and structural properties of metallic and intermetallic systems based on accurate first-principles calculations. He also has contributed to the development of novel high-temperature intermetallics and nanocluster strengthened alloys—stronger, tougher materials—for structural applications.

Amit Goyal, who was elected to the level of ORNL Corporate Fellow earlier this year, was recognized for his leadership and pioneering contributions to the invention, research and development of high-performance, high-temperature superconducting wires. His research has resulted in more than 50 issued patents and has had a significant impact on the commercial industry.

The society cited Randy Vane for his "elegant experimental elucidation of charge transfer and other fundamental inelastic processes in atomic, molecular and bulk matter systems." Vane uses very short bursts of extremely powerful laser light—pulses of energy spanning milli-electron volts to tera-electron volts—in his explorations of fundamental physical processes at the atomic scale.

Andrey Zheludev was nominated for his elegant neutron scattering investigations of quantum magnetism and quantum critical phenomena, especially in spin-chain compounds.

Pengcheng Dai and Soren Sorensen, who both hold joint appointments with the University of Tennessee and ORNL's Neutron Sciences Division, also were cited. Dai was recognized for his contributions to understanding fundamental properties of magnetic excitations in high-temperature superconductors, f-electron heavy Fermions, and colossal magneto-resistance manganites.

Sorensen was cited for his important contributions to the field of relativistic heavy ion collisions, in particular for systematic studies of stopping and transverse energy production. The APS also noted Sorensen's early leadership in the Pioneering High Energy Nuclear Interaction eXperiment (PHENIX) offline computing framework and in establishing the program of J/psi measurements at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.