Aug. 17, 2022 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory Corporate Fellow and Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences researcher Bobby Sumpter has been named fellow of two scientific professional societies: the Institute of Physics and the International Association of Advanced Materials.

“I am delighted to be named a fellow of these professional organizations,” Sumpter said. “It presents a great opportunity to promote physics and materials science internationally.”

Sumpter completed an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and a doctorate in physical chemistry from Oklahoma State University. After completing postdoctoral work in chemical physics at Cornell University, he joined ORNL in 1988 as a postdoctoral research associate through the University of Tennessee studying polymer physics and chemistry.

In his more than 30 years at ORNL, Sumpter has held a variety of research and leadership positions.

Within CNMS, Sumpter is section head for Theory and Computation, which includes the Nanomaterials Theory Institute and the Data NanoAnalytics group. His work focuses on the development and application of modern computational and mathematical simulations to understand and predict complex behavior of materials ranging in scale from molecular to the nanoscale.

He is also joint faculty at the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, a UT-ORNL partnership.

IOP has recognized Sumpter for his “outstanding accomplishments in physics and his impact to materials and nanoscience including leadership, inspiration, opportunity and recognition.” IAAM cited Sumpter “in recognition for contributions towards advancement of materials to global excellence.”

“IOP inspires to set free the potential of physics and its impact in society through diversity and skills, unlocking the capability to realize the full societal and economic benefits of the new industrial era, and public dialogue to show the impact of physics on people’s lives,” Sumpter said. “IAAM is a highly interactive community of advanced materials researchers that stimulates important partnerships,” he added.

Sumpter was named ORNL Corporate Fellow in 2013 and chaired the Corporate Fellows Council from 2018-2022. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’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.

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Source: ORNL