Ezekial A Unterberg

Bio

Zeke currently serves as ORNL's fusion materials R&D lead which includes helping to manage the ORNL fusion materials program.  He is recognized as a world expert in experimental studies of the boundary plasma and plasma materials interactions in fusion devices.  Prior to his current role, he was a group leader in the Fusion Energy Division as well as an on-location team leader for ORNL's collaboration with the DIII-D National Fusion Facility at General Atomics in San Diego, CA.

Professional Experience

He presently serves as the principal investigator for a DOE-FES FIRE (Fusion Innovation and Research Engine) Collaborative, which is a national effort to link public R&D with private industry in the US. This FIRE collaborative coordinates 13 publicly funded institutions (both national laboratories and universities) linked to an industrial advisory board of 5 fusion-focused industry partners. 

He is also the principal investigator for the DOE-FES initiative on the WEST tokamak, a long-pulsed fusion facility in France; a member of the NSTX-U program advisory committee; and assists in coordinating the US fusion materials effort.

Awards

He is the past recipient of the Office of Science’s Early Career Award (2011) and a postdoctoral fellowship from DOE Fusion Energy Sciences (2007).

Publications