Capolungo and Fensin receive medals for excellence in materials science

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Laurent Capolungo and Saryu Fensin work in the Associate Laboratory Directorate for Physical Sciences.

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Laurent Capolungo and Saryu Fensin have been named members of the Brimacombe Medalists class of 2024 by the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. The mid-career award recognizes TMS members “with sustained excellence and achievement in business, technology, education, public policy or science related to materials science and engineering who have a record of continuing service to the profession.”

Capolungo (Materials Science and Technology division) was cited for “sustained excellence and achievement in multiscale modeling of plasticity and microstructure evolution in materials and dedicated mentoring of the next generation of scientists.”

An expert in the study of microstructure evolutions in metals subjected to extreme environments, Capolungo has developed simulation tools to predict materials’ response and their connection with their microstructures. He is the lead researcher on a five-year DOE nuclear energy research project modeling structural materials under molten salt conditions with high-performance computing. He is the deputy technical director for eXtremeMAT, a consortium of seven DOE national laboratories that aims to accelerate the development of materials for service in extreme environments. Further, he is the principal investigator for a Basic Energy Science research program dedicated to diffusionless transformations in metals. Capolungo, who leads MST-8’s dynamic and quasi-static loading modeling team, has a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Fensin (Materials Physics and Applications division) was cited for “pioneering contributions to understanding the mechanisms controlling damage evolution and failure in materials under high strain rates and extreme conditions and her continued dedication to TMS.”

An expert in understanding the dynamic behavior of materials, focusing on how defects influence failure in metals and alloys, Fensin has an extensive record of professional society service — including serving as current chair of TMS’s Functional Materials Division (FMD) and past chair of several TMS committees. She has received the Robert Lansing Hardy Award from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, the TMS Young Leaders International Scholar Award -Japan Institute of Metals and Materials Award, and the TMS FMD Young Leaders Award. Most recently she received an individual Los Alamos Distinguished Performance Award for her technical and project leadership supporting the Laboratory’s plutonium research and development mission. Fensin, who has a doctorate in materials science and engineering from the University of California, Davis, leads the quasi-static and dynamic behavior of materials team at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies.