Wirth Elected Fellow of American Physical Society

Nuclear Engineering Department Head Brian Wirth has been elected a 2025 Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Wirth, a UT-ORNL Governor's Chair Professor of Computational Nuclear Engineering, was recommended for the prestigious honor by the APS Division of Plasma Physics (DPP). He was recognized for "seminal advances in understanding plasma-surface interactions involving helium in metallic plasma-facing components, and for extensive community leadership and service."

The APS is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance physics by fostering a vibrant and global community dedicated to science and society. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and around the world.

"I am truly pleased to be notified of this honor. As always with such awards, this is really a testament to the fabulous students and the ecosystem for high quality research in physics and nuclear engineering that we have developed at the University of Tennessee," Wirth said. "I am incredibly thankful to the administration here for the continuous support in making this a university on the rise. I can truly think of no better place in the country to perform research in fusion technology and materials in extreme environments, as well as nuclear engineering."

Wirth's research investigates the performance of nuclear fuels, structural materials, and plasma components in nuclear fission and fusion environments, utilizing computational materials modeling complemented by experimental investigation.

He led a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science funded Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) project from 2012–2024 on developing high-fidelity simulation tools to predict fusion plasma surface interactions that has resulted in eight publications cited more than 90 times and multiple Ph.D. graduates.

Wirth also chaired the 2024 Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee sub-committee that provided the DOE with recommendations for future fusion facilities that would best serve the nation over the next decade to contribute to world-leading science and fusion technology.

Wirth joined the UT faculty as a Governor's Chair Professor in 2010. Before his arrival on Rocky Top, he was on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, and worked as a materials scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Wirth will be presented with a certificate of recognition during the APS DPP annual meeting, which will be held November 17-21 in Long Beach, California.

Provided by University of Tennessee at Knoxville