ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences draws 246 registrants to annual user meeting
Researchers from across the nanoscience community gathered in Knoxville, Tennessee, Aug. 11-12 to share scientific results, build collaborations and recognize achievements at the 2026 Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) User Meeting. The meeting drew 246 registrants and included 61 poster presenters and five workshops.
The annual meeting gives CNMS users and staff opportunities to exchange scientific results and strengthen connections across the user community. Those connections are central to CNMS’s role as a user facility, where researchers from universities and industry work alongside Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) scientists to share expertise and develop research partnerships that can extend well beyond an individual experiment.
Five presenters received poster awards: Aritra Banerjee and Hahley Wiltse of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Nhu Quynh Nguyen of the University of North Texas; and Owen Meilander and Emanuela Riglioni of Vanderbilt University.
The meeting also honored CNMS researcher Yongtao Liu with the 2026 Jonathan D. Poplawsky Outstanding Staff Award. CNMS users nominate staff members for the annual award, and the CNMS User Executive Committee makes the final selection. Liu was recognized for scientific excellence, collaboration, mentorship and service to the CNMS user community. CNMS is a DOE Office of Science user facility.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. — Scott Gibson
