Josef Matyáš

Dr. Josef Matyáš is Senior Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA, USA. In 1997, he received his M.S. in Ceramic Engineering, and in 2001, he received a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Technology of Inorganic Materials at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Czech Republic. From 2000 – 2002 he was a Research Scientist, Institute of Chemical Technology and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and from 2002 – 2004 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at PNNL.

Dr. Matyáš has authored or co-authored over 100 journal articles, proceedings papers and publicly available government reports. He is an inventor on one patent and 9 invention disclosures and is the recipient of the DOE Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle R&D Excellence Award (2016) and Outstanding Mentor Award of the US Department of Energy (2010)

Dr. Matyáš joined the American Ceramic Society in May 2003.  He is the past chair of the Nuclear & Environmental Technology Division and served the division as Chair-elect, Secretary, and Program Committee Chair.  He has also served as the secretary and treasurer of the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers.  He has organized more than dozen symposia for the division both at the annual MS&T, ICACC, MCARE, and CMCEE meetings since 2010, and chaired a number technical sessions at ACerS annual meetings.  Dr. Matyáš has edited five Ceramic Transactions Proceedings volumes (241, 250, 253, 255, 260) and four Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings volumes (35, 36, 37, 38).  He has also served on the ACerS Books subcommittee from 2013 to 2016.

Dr. Matyáš is an international expert in glass science, radioactive waste processing, and nuclear waste management. He has made significant contributions to the nuclear waste immobilization community with his research and development of novel materials and concepts, and by providing solutions to glass vitrification technology. His current research is in the development of advanced waste forms for safe sequestration of various nuclear waste streams with a goal to maximize loading of waste and minimize disposal volumes. He is also leading an effort to develop advanced materials to capture and immobilize radioiodine released to the off-gas system during spent nuclear fuel processing.

Dr. Matyáš’s research over the years have been diverse and centered on development of novel concepts and materials for mainstream real-world applications.  One such research project has been focused on development of a novel slow-release nitrogen fertilizer that provides nitrogen when the plant needs it. This efficient use of nitrogen is vital and strategic to agricultural production and has a patent awarded.  In addition, Dr. Matyáš has an extensive experience in mentoring undergraduate students for various DOE Office of Science Programs such as Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI), Community College Institute (CCI), and Mickey Leland Energy Fellowships (MLEF).  At PNNL, he has mentored more than a dozen students in materials science research.