Governor’s Chair Professor
Research
Computational modeling and measurements of radiation effects in materials, molecular dynamics simulation, nano-materials.
Education
PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 1998
- Thesis Title: “On The Character of Nano-scale Features in Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels Under Neutron Irradiation”
- Thesis Advisor: Professor G. Robert Odette, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.
BS, Nuclear Engineering with Highest Honors, 1992
Awards and Recognitions
Appointment as Governor’s Chair Professor in Computational Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, July 2010
2007 Fusion Power Associates David J. Rose Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award
Literary Award, American Nuclear Society, Materials Science and Technology Division, 11/2004
2003 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 9/2004
2003 Early Career Scientists and Engineer Award, Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Defense Programs, 9/2004
Graduate Student Gold Medal Award, Materials Research Society, 12/1998
Finalist, Lawrence Livermore Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 6/1998
Graduate Scholarship Award, American Nuclear Society, 9/1996–6/1997
Nuclear Engineering and Health Physics Fellow, US Department of Energy, 9/1992–8/1996
Best Student Poster Award, Materials Engineering and Sciences Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1995 Annual AIChE Meeting, 11/1995
Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation in Materials Science, 1995 American
Nuclear Society Southeast Regional Student Conference, 4/1995
American Nuclear Society Student Research Exchange Program, Kerforshungzentrum, Juelich, Germany, 6/1992–9/1992
Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award, Nuclear Engineering and Health Physics Program, The Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, 6/1992
Alpha Nu Sigma Honor Society Membership, 5/1992
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Presentation in Materials Science, 1992 American
Nuclear Society Southeast Regional Student Conference, 4/1992
Publications
A77. J. J. Powers and B.D. Wirth, “A Review of TRISO Fuel Performance Modeling”, Journal of Nuclear Materials (2010) 405 (2010) 74–82.
A76. D. Xu and B.D. Wirth, “Modeling Spatially Dependent Kinetics of Helium Desorption in BCC Iron Following He Ion Implantation”, Journal of Nuclear Materials 403 (2010) 184–190.
A75. D. Xu, B.D. Wirth, J. Schroers, and W.L. Johnson, “Calculating Glass-Forming Ability in Absence of Key Kinetic and Thermodynamic Parameters”, Applied Physics Letters 97 (2010) 024102.