The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has named five researchers as ORNL Corporate Fellows in recognition of their significant career accomplishments and continued leadership.
Corporate Fellow is the highest recognition for members of ORNL research staff. Larry Baylor, Craig Blue, Bob Hettich, Mark Lumsden and Jun Qu have been recognized by the laboratory for their standing as exceptional and influential researchers in the international scientific community and as role models and mentors among peers and early career researchers.
“Our five new Corporate Fellows represent ORNL’s breadth of talent and expertise that can be applied to the energy and environmental challenges we face as a society,” ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer said. “Fusion energy, advanced manufacturing, microscopy, neutron science and materials science – the fields represented by Larry, Craig, Bob, Mark and Jun — all play leading roles in providing the technological solutions that make a better world.”
Distinguished staff scientist Larry Baylor serves as the interim Fusion Nuclear Science, Technology and Engineering section head and Blanket and Fuel Cycle group leader in ORNL’s Fusion Energy Division, where he has performed research since 1989. Baylor is recognized as a world leader in pellet physics and fueling systems for fusion devices, including leading the team that pioneered the cryogenic shattered pellet injection technology for disruption mitigation. He has led the development of fueling systems for numerous fusion facilities worldwide and has played a major role in establishing ORNL as a leader in cryogenic pellet technologies for fusion devices.
Baylor received a doctorate in physics from the University of Tennessee. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He received the 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Nuclear Society’s fusion energy division. Baylor is recognized as a leader and expert in his field by colleagues in fusion science from around the globe and as a mentor for early career researchers.
Craig Blue serves as ORNL’s chief manufacturing officer and defense manufacturing program director and is founding director of ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. He has nearly three decades of experience as a distinguished R&D staff scientist in building teams and programs in the field of materials and manufacturing science. Blue helped initiate DOE’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at ORNL, served as the founding CEO of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation and stewarded ORNL’s role in several national institutes including the Critical Materials Institute, National Alliance for Water Innovation Institute, Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute and America’s Cutting Edge, a national machine tool and workforce development program.
Blue received his doctorate in materials science and engineering from the University of Cincinnati. He is a fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers with more than 100 journal publications, over than 32 patents, and 14 R&D 100 Awards. He a Battelle Distinguished Inventor, fellow of ASM International, fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and received the Gordon Battelle Prize for Technology Impact in 2010. He has championed workforce development through his support for programs including ACE workforce initiatives through IACMI and the Innovation Crossroads entrepreneurship program. He has held adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of North Texas, and Colorado School of Mines, and in 2024 was selected by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers as one of the “25 leaders transforming manufacturing.”
Distinguished R&D staff member Mark Lumsden leads the Spectroscopy section in ORNL’s Neutron Scattering Division. He came to ORNL in 1999 as a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow and joined the laboratory’s research staff in 2001. Lumsden has been a leading force in the development of ORNL’s inelastic neutron scattering capabilities at the Spallation Neutron Source, or SNS, and High Flux Isotope Reactor, both DOE Office of Science user facilities. He has been integral to the development of the scientific instrument and experimental plans for the proposed Second Target Station at the SNS and played an important role in establishing ORNL’s leadership in neutron scattering science and research in quantum materials.
Lumsden received his doctorate from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the Neutron Scattering Society of America. He received the Gordon Battelle Award for scientific research in 2011. As a role model and mentor, he leads a team of 29 highly motivated scientists and postdocs.
Distinguished R&D staff scientist Robert (Bob) Hettich leads the Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry group in ORNL’s Biosciences Division. He is recognized as a founder of the field of metaproteomics and a pioneer in the development and demonstration of advanced biological mass spectrometry technologies. Hettich’s work has focused on microbiome research to characterize complex biological mixtures such as microbial proteomes, and for examining higher order protein structure. His stature as a leader in metaproteomics has placed him at the forefront of several international research initiatives, and he has mentored more than 40 postdoctoral and graduate students.
Hettich received a doctorate in analytical chemistry from Purdue University and joined the ORNL research staff in 1986. He is a joint faculty member with the University of Tennessee’s microbiology department and a faculty member of the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research, where he was named outstanding faculty member in 2023.
Jun Qu leads the Surface Engineering and Tribology group in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division. His research interests include advanced lubrication, surface engineering, materials tribology, nanostructured materials and manufacturing. Qu is a world-recognized thought leader in tribology and is best known for leading the global research direction of ionic liquid lubricants during the past two decades. He has been leading multidisciplinary R&D involving materials science, chemistry, mechanical and chemical engineering, and environmental science in close collaborations with industry, academia and other national labs for transportation and energy applications.
Qu received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University. He is a fellow of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers and serves on the board of directors for Wear of Materials and as the Editor-in-Chief for Elsevier’s Encyclopedia of Tribology & Lubrication. As a role model and mentor, Qu is noted for his selfless engagement and encouragement of his early career associates.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. — Bill Cabage
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