Jerry is recognized for distinguished research on the genetic basis of tree growth and development, including leading the international efforts to sequence, assemble, and annotate the genomes of poplar and eucalyptus bioenergy feedstocks.
For environmental-effects research related to energy technologies and their use, focusing on the impacts of climate and atmospheric changes on the physiology, growth, and biogeochemical cycles of North American forest ecosystems.
For pioneering research and development of new materials for advanced energy technologies, including materials for (a) the storage of nuclear waste, (b) the solid-state generation of electrical power directly from heat, and (c) the lossless transport of electricity.
For his role in conceiving, designing, and implementing novel geocomputational methods to help solve a wide variety of national and global problems in energy, the environment, and national security.
For pioneering studies of the functionality of mesoporous oxides and carbons for real-world applications, ionic liquids for chemical separation and materials synthesis, and catalysis by nanomaterials.
For far-reaching accomplishments on national security issues relating to nuclear weapons proliferation, security of nuclear materials, and counterterrorism.
For internationally recognized contributions in distributed and cluster computing, including the development of the Parallel Virtual Machine and the Message Passing Interface standard now widely used in science to solve computational problems in biology, physics, chemistry, and materials science.
For leadership in the development of high-temperature materials for energy and space applications, based on innovative use of physical metallurgy principles and basic physics knowledge to understand crystal structures and the mechanical properties of structural materials.
For innovative and fundamental contributions to the understanding of the interactions and transport of electrons in gases and liquids, negative ion processes, the interfacing of the gaseous and condensed phases of matter, and the use of fundamental knowledge in the development of gaseous dielectrics, radiation detectors, and pulsed power