ORNL researchers Simpson, Snead, Tuskan named corporate fellows

Michael L. Simpson, Lance L. Snead, and Gerald A. Tuskan have been named corporate fellows of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Among the lab’s highest honors, the corporate fellow designation recognizes the researchers’ significant accomplishments and continuing leadership in their scientific, engineering, and technological fields. With their addition, the number of active corporate fellows at ORNL is now 29 researchers, a press release said.

“Our new corporate fellows—Mike, Lance, and Jerry—are recognized leaders in the fields of nanotechnology, materials research, and bioscience, respectively,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said. “Their careers represent the span of ORNL research from fundamental science to real-world technologies for the nation’s critical needs in energy and the environment.”

Since 2001, Simpson has been a group leader for the Nanofabrication Research Laboratory and theme leader in the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. His research focus includes noise biology, nano-enabled synthetic biology, and controlled synthesis and directed assembly of carbon nanostructures. In 2011, he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science following his induction into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering in 2010 and election as a fellow of the IEEE in 2008.

Simpson has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, garnering nearly 7,500 citations, and has been awarded 34 U.S. patents. He is on an external advisory board for the BATOCOM consortium led by Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, and holds a joint faculty position in the material sciences and engineering department at the University of Tennessee, where he received his doctorate in electrical engineering. He is the assistant director for the Joint ORNL/UTK Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education.

Snead is an associate division director of the Materials Science and Technology Division. In 2012, he received the ORNL Director’s Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Science and Technology following his 2010 election to fellow status in the American Nuclear Society for “being the leading international expert on radiation effects in silicon carbide and other ceramic composites for fusion and advanced fission reactors.” Also in 2010, Snead was elected fellow of the American Ceramic Society. For his technical contributions he has received numerous society awards including the ANS Mishima and ACS Fulrath awards.

Snead has served as guest editor for a number of journals within his field, publishing more than 210 papers with 4,450 citations. He received his doctorate in nuclear engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1992.

Tuskan is a distinguished scientist in ORNL’s Biosciences Division. His research focuses on the genetic basis of tree growth and development including collaborations on the genome sequences of poplar and, more recently, eucalyptus biofeedstocks. In 2012, he was the fourth award recipient of the Institute of Forest Biotechnology’s Forest Biotechnologist of the Year.

Tuskan received his bachelor’s degree in forest management from Northern Arizona University, master’s in forest genetics from Mississippi State University and doctorate in genetics from Texas A&M University. He has written more than 154 journal articles with 7,975 citations.

Tuskan is the subject of a video from the Joint Genome Institute, and he discusses the Eucalyptus genome sequencing work in it. See the video here.