Bio
Michael J. Zachman is a Senior Staff Scientist and Group Leader of the electron Microscopy and MicroÅnalysis (e-MMÅ) Group in the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Michael received his BS in Physics from Purdue University in 2012 and his PhD in Applied Physics from Cornell University in 2018. He came to ORNL in 2018 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the CNMS and began as a Staff Scientist in 2019.
Michael's research interests lie in advancing and applying electron microscopy techniques to study the structure and properties of quantum and energy materials. During his PhD, Michael developed cryogenic focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) and low-dose cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy (cryo-STEM) and spectroscopy techniques to provide access to nanoscale information at intact solid-liquid and hard-soft interfaces extracted from bulk materials and devices. While at ORNL, Michael has worked to develop four-dimensional (4D)-STEM techniques to reveal new information about quantum, battery, and catalyst materials down to the atomic scale, automation techniques to provide statistically relevant high-resolution information about complex systems, and custom data analysis routines for a wide array of data. Currently, Michael continues to advance cryogenic FIB techniques to provide enhanced access to buried interfaces in energy devices across a wide range of length scales, as well as low-dose, high-contrast cryo-(S)TEM imaging and spectroscopy methods and corresponding AI-based data analysis tools to provide high-resolution structural, compositional, and bonding information about materials sensitive to the electron beam.
Professional Experience
- 2026–present - Senior R&D Staff and Group Leader (e-MMÅ Group), CNMS, ORNL
- 2023–2025 - R&D Staff, CNMS, ORNL
- 2019–2023 - R&D Associate, CNMS, ORNL
- 2018–2019 - Postdoctoral Research Associate, CNMS, ORNL
Awards
- Kurt F.J. Heinrich Award, Microanalysis Society, 2026
- Mentor of the Year (2nd Place), Oak Ridge Postdoctoral Association Annual Awards, 2025
- Albert Crewe Award, Microscopy Society of America, 2024
- Outstanding CNMS Staff Member Award, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL, 2023
- Distinguished Scientific Paper Award, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL, 2023
- Special Team Accomplishment Award ("For establishing first cryo-EM laboratory at ORNL/CNMS"), Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, ORNL, 2023
- William Nichols Findley Award for Outstanding Research Paper, Cornell University School of Applied & Engineering Physics, 2019
- Early Career Representative and Scholarship for EMAS 2019, Microanalysis Society, 2019
- Best Microscopy and Microanalysis Journal Paper of 2016 Award, Microscopy Society of America, 2017
- Materials Handling Prize, Silent Hoist and Crane, 2017
- Meeting Scholarship, Enhanced Data Generated by Electrons, 2017
- Eric Samuel Scholarship Award, Microscopy Society of America, 2015
- Watt W. Webb Graduate Fellowship in Nanoscience, Kavli Institute at Cornell, 2014
Education
- 2018 - Cornell University, Ph.D., Applied Physics
- 2015 - Cornell University, M.S., Applied Physics
- 2012 - Purdue University, B.S., Physics