Paranthaman named R&D World Researcher of the Year

M. Parans Paranthaman, an expert in solid-state chemistry and materials science at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has been named R&D World's 2026 Researcher of the Year. The honor recognizes his career translating fundamental materials research into practical technologies with real-world applications.

Paranthaman, an ORNL Corporate Fellow and UT-Battelle Distinguished Inventor, joined ORNL in 1993. He has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and possesses 65 U.S. patents. He conducts research in ORNL's Chemical Sciences Division and holds a joint appointment with the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

From 1999 to 2026, he received ten R&D 100 awards for materials and processes involving:

• rare earth element recovery from phosphate feedstock
• sorbents that extract lithium directly from brines, mining waste and recycled battery materials
• N95 fabrics and antiviral coatings for domestic respirator mask production during the COVID-19 pandemic
• additive manufacturing of permanent magnets for electric motors
• carbon derived from tire waste for use in lithium-ion batteries
• superhydrophobic coatings that repel water from glass
• gallium nitride technology for power electronics
• high-temperature superconductors for wires, cables and tape (three separate R&D 100 Awards)

Fourteen companies have licensed technologies that Paranthaman helped develop. They include Samsung Electronics, 3M, American Superconductor and SuperPower. The licenses span electronics, superconducting power systems, coatings and advanced materials, demonstrating the industrial reach of his research. For example, Carlex Glass America licensed an ORNL technology for superhydrophobic glass coatings, while Marc-Antoni Racing licensed technology for fast-charging lithium-ion battery components. Texas-based Element3 also licensed seven of Paranthaman's technologies to extract lithium from wastewater produced during oil and gas operations, supporting efforts to strengthen the domestic lithium supply.

His honors include several Federal Laboratory Consortium awards, the ORNL Director's Award for Top Scientist and the UT-Battelle Inventor of the Year award.

Paranthaman earned bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from Madurai Kamaraj University and a doctorate in materials science and solid-state chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin with Professor John B. Goodenough, who later received the Nobel Prize in chemistry, and at the University of Colorado Boulder with experimental physicist Allen Hermann.

Paranthaman is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, American Physical Society, Materials Research Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Ceramic Society, the Institute of Physics and ASM International. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society, TMS and the Electrochemical Society and a senior member of the IEEE Magnetics Society.

He has trained nearly 200 students, early-career researchers, teachers and interns throughout his career and has received three DOE Outstanding Mentor Awards.

"Parans is an innovative global leader whose contributions span from fundamental to applied research," said Cynthia Jenks, associate laboratory director for physical sciences at ORNL. "His abilities to turn brilliant ideas in the lab into impactful technologies for the marketplace and to help build the workforce that can continue this success have transformed our understanding of nature and advanced energy, economic and national security. This research ranges from atoms to applications and shines as a bright example of why national labs are here."

Researcher of the Year is part of R&D World's annual R&D 100 Professional Awards, which recognize leaders for their impact on research, technology and society. Paranthaman's selection recognizes his work translating fundamental science into technologies for energy, manufacturing and industry.

A broader story about ORNL's 2026 R&D 100 winners will follow.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE'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. - Dawn Levy