image: Robert Wagner, transportation researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, recently received Senior Member status from IEEE. view more
Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Two Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have been elevated to the grade of senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Robert Wagner, division director for the Building Transportation Science Division, and Scott Curran, group leader for Fuel Science and Engine Technologies Research, earned the recognition for making significant contributions to the engineering field.
Wagner leads an accomplished, multi-disciplinary team focused on building technologies, propulsion science, and vehicle and mobility systems research for ORNL’s Energy Science and Technology Directorate, is a founding member of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines initiative. He also guides research activities at two DOE national user facilities – the National Transportation Research Center and the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center. Wagner serves on several advisory committees and has founded and/or led more than 30 significant symposiums, conferences, and technical sessions. Wagner and Curran founded ORNL’s Smoky Mountains Mobility Conference, a forum designed to connect international thought leaders from diverse disciplines across industry, universities, national laboratories, and the government to drive the conversation for a more efficient, safe, and secure mobility future.
He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and SAE International. Wagner was recently chosen for DOE’s 2022 cohort of the Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program. He earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Curran leads a multi-disciplinary research team at ORNL that focuses on developing advanced engine technologies for on-road and off-road applications including emission controls, electric and hybridized propulsion systems and alternative fuels that support a clean, decarbonized transportation future. He is involved with low-lifecycle carbon fuels research for transportation and leads natural gas research and analysis projects. Curran is active in DOE’s Clean Cities for alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies outreach..
He serves on the board of directors for the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition and is a member of SAE and ASME, where he received the SAE International Young Industry Leadership Award and the ASME Old Guard Early Career Award. Curran earned his doctorate in energy science and engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
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.