Greg Krumdick is the Director of Argonne National Laboratory’s Applied Materials division. Previously, he managed Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF). He has been the principal investigator and lead engineer on numerous industrial process scale-up projects. Krumdick holds numerous patents and has earned three R&D 100 awards and a Federal Laboratory Consortium award for technology transfer.

John Hryn serves as a Vector Lead in Advanced Materials & Manufacturing for Argonne’s National Security Programs. He is an expert in aluminum and magnesium processing and recycling, and electrodialysis processing. He has spent the majority of his career at Argonne, focusing his research on energy-efficient and environmentally sound aluminum and magnesium processing and recycling technology development.

George Fenske is the Tribology Lead for Argonne National Laboratory’s Applied Materials division. He has more than 20 years of experience as a principal investigator on research projects related to tribology of hard coatings, surface modification by ion implantation and thin-film deposition processes, and nuclear reactor safety. 

Young Soo Park leads the Robotics and Remote Systems (R&RS) Program in the Applied Materials Division. The program aims at applying the traditional R&RS and emerging technologies for development of new automation technologies for next-generation manufacturing processes. He is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Computation Institute.

Sam Sham is the Advanced Reactor Materials Lead in the Applied Materials division at Argonne National Laboratory. His technical specialty is deformation and failure of advanced materials and structural mechanics technologies for high temperature reactors. 

Donna Brunner facilitates business relationships between Argonne National Laboratory and industry partners, providing opportunities to develop and commercialize the laboratory’s advanced technologies. She works in close collaboration with several divisions and programs across Argonne.

Ali Erdemir is an Argonne National Laboratory Distinguished Fellow and Senior Scientist with international recognition and significant accomplishments in the fields of materials science, surface engineering and tribology. His discoveries of nearly frictionless carbon and superhard nanocomposite coatings, as well as a range of novel nanolubricants and lubrication additives, have been hailed as major breakthroughs in the field.

Kris Pupek is the Group Leader for Process R&D and Scale Up in Argonne National Laboratory’s Applied Materials division. The group evaluates emerging synthesis techniques and develops scalable processes for manufacturing of advanced materials including organic, inorganic, polymeric and nanomaterials to support basic research and industrial evaluation.

Jeff Elam leads Argonne National Laboratory’s Functional Coatings Group in the Applied Materials division. The group develops coating technologies for a diverse range of applications including energy storage, photodetectors, and water purification. He has won five R&D 100 Awards and holds numerous patents.

Balu Balachandran is an Argonne National Laboratory Distinguished Fellow and the Group Leader for the Ceramics and Covetic Materials group in the Applied Materials Division. His research expertise includes nano-carbon infused metals/alloys for high-performance conductors, capacitors for power electronics in electric drive vehicles, fuel cells, ceramic membranes for gas separation, ethylene, oxygen and hydrogen production, natural gas conversion, and high-temperature superconductors. 

Aaron Greco is the Group Manager for Argonne National Laboratory’s Materials for Harsh Conditions group in the Applied materials division. He also serves as Principal Investigator on a project to improve the reliability of wind turbine drivetrains and supports research efforts to improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles through the development of various lubricant and surface treatment technologies to reduce frictional losses.

Meltem Urgun-Demirtas leads the Bioprocesses and Reactive Separations group in Argonne National Laboratory’s Applied Materials division, which focuses on re-engineering plant flow diagrams to develop innovative technologies for industrial applications as well as development and application of intensified reactor and separation technologies. She is a Fellow at the Northwestern and Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering.

Jeff Spangenberger manages the Materials Recycling Group in Argonne National Laboratory’s Applied Materials division. His group works to solve material separation, recovery, and recycling challenges resulting in cost effective and environmentally sustainable processes resulting in commercialized plants.