Leadership

Greg Krumdick is the director of the Applied Materials division. His division, which includes Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF), accelerates the development of new materials and processes using scalable synthesis, advanced characterization, and device fabrication and testing to drive innovation from invention to commercialization.

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.

Dr. Jianlin Li is the Energy Storage and Conversion department manager in the Applied Materials division. He leads a department devoted to creating a go-to department that sustains national leadership in advanced materials manufacturing and process scale up for energy storage and conversion applications. The department aims to be a one-stop shop covering from precursors for material development to manufacturing of final devices.

Dileep Singh leads Argonne National Laboratory’s Materials for Harsh Environments department in the Applied Materials division. The department leverages modeling and simulations, materials synthesis and processing, and advanced characterizations to develop and evaluate innovative materials and systems for applications in harsh (temperatures, pressures, corrosive, etc.) environments. He is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, ASM International and an Academician of the World Academy of Ceramics.

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 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.

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.

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.

Dr. Albert Lipson leads projects to advance the state of the art of Li-ion battery recycling and Li-ion battery cathode development at Argonne and is working toward processing and manufacturing of solid state batteries. He is currently the Applied Materials division group leader for Separations and Bioprocessing and a staff member at the Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF), which focuses on process R&D and scale up of materials for advanced applications.

Mark Messner is a materials modeling expert who develops advanced simulation tools and design methods to predict how materials perform and fail in extreme environments, helping enable safer and more efficient high-temperature energy systems. 

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.

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.

Yuepeng Zhang is a PhD materials scientist with expertise in nanocomposite materials and membrane development, process scale-up, and manufacturing technology advancement. She leads the effort on roll-to-roll manufacturing and printed electronic devices.