Lab Partnering Service Discovery

Dr. Robert O’Brien is an internationally recognized Principal Nuclear Scientist/Engineer who has focused his career on the development of advanced materials and energy systems in addition to the manufacturing processes to produce materials for harsh environments Dr. O’Brien received a PhD in the nuclear engineering and physics of radioisotope and nuclear power / propulsion systems for space exploration from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Under his PhD research project, Dr. O’Brien proposed the use of americium-based radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and developed Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) Electric Field Assisted Sintering Techniques (EFAST) for the encapsulation of nuclear materials for both RTGs and nuclear reactor fuels. Dr. O’Brien also received a Masters degree in Physics with Space Science and technology from the University of Leicester. Dr. O’Brien’s research and programmatic management experience in advanced manufacturing of harsh environment materials, space systems and instrumentation design/development, defense systems, nuclear fuel performance, nuclear instrumentation, nuclear safety, irradiation testing, radioisotope source design, and nuclear power system design and development. 

Dr. O’Brien currently serves as the Director of Advanced Manufacturing for the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Under this role, Dr O’Brien’s leadership extends across all of the Directorates of the laboratory; Energy & Environment Science & Technology, Nuclear Science & Technology, National & Homeland Security, Materials & Fuels Complex, Advanced Test Reactor, and Industry Engagement.  

Biography

Charles Macal applies computational modeling and simulation tools to complex systems to solve problems in a variety of fields, including energy and national security.

He is the chief scientist for the Argonne Resilient Infrastructure Initiative, and is a principal investigator for the development of the widely used Repast agent-based modeling toolkit.

He has Appointments at the University of Chicago Computation Institute and the Northwestern-Argonne Institute for Science and Engineering. He is adjunct professor at the University of Chicago, where he teaches a course on Complex Adaptive Systems for Threat Management and Emergency Preparedness.

He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Illinois and holds software copyrights for two systems: ELIST (Enhanced Logistics Intra-theater Support Tool) and EMCAS (Electricity Market Complex Adaptive System).

Education

• B.S. Purdue University, 1974
• M.S., Purdue University, 1975
• Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1989

Awards, Honors and Memberships

• Association for Computing Machinery, Transactions on Modeling and Computer Simulation, Area Editor for Agent-based Modeling
• Society for Computer Simulation International, Simulation Journal, Associate Editor

Rick Stevens is Argonne’s Associate Laboratory Director for Computing, Environment and Life Sciences.

Stevens has been at Argonne since 1982, and has served as director of the Mathematics and Computer Science Division and also as Acting Associate Laboratory Director for Physical, Biological and Computing Sciences. He is currently leader of Argonne’s Exascale Computing Initiative, and a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago Physical Sciences Collegiate Division. From 2000-2004, Stevens served as Director of the National Science Foundation’s TeraGrid Project and from 1997-2001 as Chief Architect for the National Computational Science Alliance.

Stevens is interested in the development of innovative tools and techniques that enable computational scientists to solve important large-scale problems effectively on advanced scientific computers. Specifically, his research focuses on three principal areas: advanced collaboration and visualization environments, high-performance computer architectures (including Grids) and computational problems in the life sciences. In addition to his research work, Stevens teaches courses on computer architecture, collaboration technology, virtual reality, parallel computing and computational science.

Tim Klett is a Cyber Security Analyst within the Infrastructure Assurance and Analysis Division at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). He has over 20 years of experience in working with information technology solutions for both the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). His current work includes overseeing the design, development, and security of several mission-critical systems utilized by DHS. Tim's current research areas include critical infrastructure dependencies and interdependencies and cyber/physical impacts. Tim is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Idaho, earned his M.S. degree in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2004, and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Ryan Hruska is a Senior Critical Infrastructure and Mission Assurance Research Lead within the Infrastructure Assurance and Analysis Division at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). He has over 15 years of experience developing innovative technology solutions for the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of Defense (DOD). His current research includes leading the develop of the All Hazards Analysis (AHA) Framework and Essential Function Analysis Capability (EFAC) for mission assurance modeling. His research interests include machine learning, data analysis, critical infrastructure modeling, cyber-security, remote sensing, and decision support systems. He has a M.S. in both Computer & Environmental Sciences, which includes a Geographic Information Systems Certificate, and a B.S. in Cartography from the University of Idaho. In addition, he is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science. Mr. Hruska is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) and current member of the IEEE Computer & Computational Intelligence Societies, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and has served as an adjunct professor for remote sensing in Idaho State University’s Department of Geosciences.

NETL Staff Biography

Grant S. Bromhal, Ph.D.

Senior Fellow for Geological and Environmental Sciences

Dr. Grant S. Bromhal is a Senior Fellow at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), focusing on Geological and Environmental Sciences. He leads a team that conducts novel research related to unconventional oil and gas recovery, enhanced oil recovery, carbon storage, enhanced geothermal systems, and other related issues.

Dr. Bromhal is the Technical Director of the National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP), work for which he and his collaborators won, in 2017, an R&D 100 award for novel software development. Dr. Bromhal is also the director of the Science-informed Machine Learning for Accelerating Real-Time Decisions in Subsurface Applications (SMART Initiative).

He has been a research engineer at NETL for more than 17 years. During that time, he has been a Team Lead in Predictive Geosciences; the U.S. DOE’s technical representative on the Multiagency Collaboration (MAC) on Unconventional Oil and Gas; and a member of the DOE working group on well integrity in response to the Aliso Canyon incident.

Dr. Bromhal earned his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and his BS/BA degree in Civil Engineering and Math from West Virginia University. He is the recipient of the 2007 Hugh Guthrie Award for Innovation at NETL, the 2010 U.S. Geological Survey Director’s Award for Exemplary Service to the Nation, and the 2011 U.S. Department of Energy Secretary’s Achievement Honor Award.

Dr. Sibendu Som is the manager of the Computational Multi-Physics Research Section in the Energy Systems Division at Argonne National Laboratory and a senior scientist at the Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago.

Dr. Som has over a decade of experience in enabling technologies for more efficient engine combustion using computational tools. He leads a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) team at Argonne National Laboratory with a research focus on the development of nozzle-flow, spray, and combustion models, using high-performance computing (HPC) for internal combustion engine (ICE) applications. His team is responsible for developing predictive simulation capabilities to enable OEMs to develop advanced high-efficiency, low-emission engines. Dr. Som’s group is pioneering the implementation of machine learning (ML) techniques to further speed up piston engine and gas turbine simulations. He is a co-founder and technical lead of Argonne’s Virtual Engine Research Institute and Fuels Initiative (VERIFI) program, which is aimed at providing predictive simulations for industry. Dr. Som and his team are recognized worldwide for improving the predictive capability of simulation tools and applying these tools using HPC to reduce time to design. This outcome has been achieved through a decade of work in improving sub-models and HPC tools and, more recently, applying ML tools. The improved predictive capability and reduction of simulation time have benefited several industries.

More information is available on Dr. Som’s LinkedIn and Google Scholar profiles.