James E Parks II

Bio

Dr. Parks leads the Energy and Industrial Processes Section in the Manufacturing Science Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He received his B.S. in Physics from North Carolina State University in 1989 and his Ph. D. in Physics from the University of Tennessee in 1995. Prior to joining ORNL, Dr. Parks worked in the private sector at EmeraChem LLC where he specialized in lean NOx trap catalyst research and commercialization for power generation and transportation applications. Upon joining ORNL, he conducted research on catalysis and emissions control for advanced combustion engines and renewable fuels at ORNL's National Transportation Research Center.  Dr. Parks served as Group Leader for the Applied Catalysis and Emissions Research and Chemical Process Scale-Up Groups prior to becoming Section Head.  His current research interests include waste-to-energy via gasification, advanced spectroscopic techniques for on-line sensing and SMART manufacturing, artificial intelligence for spectral analyses, modeling of reactor systems, and novel applications of nanophase materials. Dr. Parks has >100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and holds 14 patents. He is a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  He currently serves in leadership roles in the following U.S. Department of Energy consortia: the National Laboratory Gasification Consortium in the Office of Fossil Energy (Industry Engagement), the Consortium for Computational Physics and Chemistry in the Bioenergy Technologies Office (Principal Investigator), and the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium in the Bioenergy Technologies Office (Steering Committee).

Awards

• 2025 R&D 100 Award for “BIPHASICS: Point-Source CO₂ Capture with Biphasic Solvents”

• 2024 Battelle Distinguished Inventor Award

• 2022 R&D 100 Award for “Ultra-Clean Condensing Gas Furnace”

• 2020 Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers

• 2015 United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR) Team Award for the Advanced Combustion and Emission Control Low Temperature Aftertreatment Subteam

• 2014 Oak Ridge National Laboratory Significant Event Award for “SuperTruck”

• 2014 R&D 100 Award for “RF-DPF™ Diesel Particulate Filter Sensor”

• 2013 R&D 100 Award for “Da Vinci Fuel-in-Oil (DAFIO™) Measurement System”

• 2011 Federal Laboratory Consortium National Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer

• 2009 Federal Laboratory Consortium Southeastern Region Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer

Publications

Other Publications