Ram Devanathan

Ram Devanathan is a technical group manager in the Energy & Environment Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington. He leads a group of 40 scientists and engineers with expertise in materials characterization, multiscale modeling, mechanical testing, radiation detection, mechanical design, prototyping, and robotics to develop innovative solutions for the nation’s pressing energy and environmental challenges.

He received a BTech degree in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, a PhD degree in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University in 1993, and an MBA degree from Washington State University in 2011.

Dr. Devanathan’s research interests include the design of ceramics for extreme environments, ceramics and glasses for nuclear waste immobilization, accident-tolerant nuclear fuel and cladding, solid oxide fuel cell materials, multiscale modeling of corrosion, proton hopping in polymer electrolytes, and selective molecular transport through graphene oxide membranes.

He is a Chair of the Materials Research Society’s 2015 Fall Meeting and Chair Elect of the American Chemical Society’s Richland Section. Dr. Devanathan is passionate about STEM education and mentors local elementary and middle school students for MathCounts and First Lego League Robotics. He also volunteers as an adult leader with the Boy Scouts of America. Dr. Devanathan is a recipient of the US Department of Energy’s Outstanding Mentor Award in 2010 for his efforts to involve high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in computational materials science, and The American Ceramic Society’s Richard M. Fulrath Award in 2012 for excellence in ceramics research.