Congratulations to our colleague and HPCAT user - PNNL Materials Scientist Arun Devaraj on his 2020 Early Career Research Program award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science.

Arun will use the award funds to explore how hydrogen, combined with stress and oxidation, leads to catastrophic failures of high-strength steels that are widely used in the nuclear and automotive industries. The research will combine a broad range of techniques available at PNNL and DOE synchrotron facilities, such as HPCAT-APS, to understand how events at the atomic level result in microscopic cracks, and eventually, large-scale degradation. To understand this stress corrosion cracking, he will study individual diffusion and oxidation events by using advanced microscopy methods such as cryogenic-transfer atom probe tomography, in situ electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray methods, and simulations. The goal of the work will be to develop scientific strategies for designing metal alloys capable of withstanding extreme environments of corrosion, stress, and high temperature.

https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/pnnl-materials-scientist-arun-devaraj-receive-early-career-award

We wish Arun continued success with his career and research goals!