Biography - Bryan C. Chakoumakos

Chakoumakos

Bryan Chakoumakos is a Senior Distinguished Research Scientist in the Neutron Scattering Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he conducts research on properties of novel and technologically important materials. He employs crystallography and X-ray/neutron diffraction methods and broadly publishes in physics, materials science, chemistry, and mineralogy.

He received his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences (mineralogy & crystallography emphasis) at Virginia Tech in 1984, working with Gerry Gibbs. In 1984-1987 he was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico working with Rod Ewing. He joined ORNL in 1987 initially working in the Solid State Division with Lynn Boatner. After changing to the Neutron Scattering Group in 1993, he variously has been an instrument scientist for the powder diffractometer and the four-circle diffractometer at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), and Group Leader for 11 years for diffraction groups involving instruments at HFIR and the Spallation Neutron Source. He currently is the Leader for the Single-Crystal Neutron Diffraction Team in the Neutron Diffraction Group.

He is Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America (2007), the American Crystallographic Association (2016), the American Association of the Advancement of Science (2016) and the Neutron Scattering Society of America (2020). He received the Bau Neutron Diffraction Award in 2019 from the American Crystallographic Association. He served as Associate Editor (1999-2004) and Letters Editor (2005-2010) for the American Mineralogist and was also a Guest Editor of a special issue on Clathrate Hydrates, American Mineralogist, vol 89 (8-9), 2004. He served as Secretary of the Mineralogical Society of America (2015-2019). Other activities include serving on the board of Scientific Directors for the National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering (2008-2018) and the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source Program Advisory Committee (1996-2001). He has past chaired the Neutron Scattering (2001) and Powder Diffraction (2005) Special Interest Groups of the American Crystallographic Association. He is a member of the Research Committee for the Japan Atomic Energy Agency - U.S. Department of Energy Cooperative Program on Neutron Scattering.

Photo: Bryan Chakoumakos doing micro powder diffraction with a single-crystal diffractometer to study the carbonate phases in fish otoliths (2019).