Caen Ang

Research Assistant Professor

Biography

Caen Ang is a UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII) Research Associate Professor under the Advanced Manufacturing for Fusion Extremes portfolio, and holds appointments with the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He leads the Nuclear Fuels and Materials laboratory located in SERF, with a separate EX / CUI space. There are over 20 students conducting development, or collaborative research projects in the laboratory. His current goals are to understand the synthesis, transport kinetics, properties, and testing of advanced materials for plasma facing materials, and associated refractory materials and fusion technologies.

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High Temperature Materials Laboratory

Research

Ang developed high temperature materials, cladding and elements for the Advanced Technologies Division of Ultra Safe Nuclear from 2021–2024. He was responsible for fabrication and critical assessment of fuel elements for direct (nuclear) thermal propulsion, conceptualization of radioisotope fuel targets for commercial RTG/RHUs, and development Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuels. He has personally overseen the synthesis, design and failure testing of high temperature (T > 2000K) fuels, and tritium breeding technologies. Previously, he was the recipient of the UT Research Faculty/Associate Excellence Award in 2020, and is credited with the successful establishment of the high temperature materials capability in the NE department. 

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2014-2017, Neutron irradiation of ceramics and composites & Development of mitigation coatings for advanced LWR fuel cladding
• PhD (Eng), MU/CSIRO, 2009-2014, Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics and Composites for Extreme Environments
• BSc (Hons), Monash University (MU), 2008-2009, Synthesis of ceramics via pre-ceramic and solution-based processing

Professional Service

• Member of the American Ceramic Society
• Member of the American Nuclear Society
• Reviewer for JNM, JACERS, JECS, IJACT, IJCES
• Organizational Committee of the International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites (ICACC)

Publications

(Selected)

1. Ang. "Activation energy from onset of Spark Plasma Sintering densification of high-purity alumina: effects of particle size, atmosphere, and heating rate." J. Eur. Ceram. Soc (2026).
2. Ang. "Properties of solid-solution uranium zirconium carbides for high temperature nuclear applications." Journal of Nuclear Materials 615 (2025): 155929.
3. Connor, C. Ang. "Analysis of initial stage densification kinetics of zirconium carbide (ZrC) powders." Journal of the European Ceramic Society 45, No. 5 (2025): 117114.
4. Shaver, K. Wheeler, C. Ang, Development of SiC Encapsulation for Thulium Oxide Targets as Potential Nuclear Batteries, Journal of Nuclear Materials (2024) 155700
5. Ang, M. Phillips, K. Karl, T. Hinklin, B. Shaver, Ceramic Encapsulation for Commercial Non-plutonium Radioisotope Fuels, Proceedings of the 46th Annual Conference on Composites, Materials and Structures, St. Augustine, FL, 2023.
6. Ang, T. Hinklin, B. Connor, C. Hilliard, S. Yue, T. Ironman, E. Chaleff, G. Garside, Zirconium Carbide Circular Prismatic Core Geometries by Spark Plasma Sintering - An Empirical Perspective, Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, Cleveland, OH, 2022.
7. Hilliard, E. Deters, T. Ironman, T. Hinklin, C. Ang, Eliminating Open Porosity in FCM® Fuels, 45th Annual Conference on Composites, Materials and Structures, Cocoa Beach, FL, 2022.
8. Ang, M. Scott, E. Deters, A. Selby, Pulsed Electric Current Sintering for Fuel Element Fabrication, Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, Knoxville, TN, April 26th-30th, 2021, 2021.
9. Ang, L.L.Snead, Y.Kato, A logical approach for zero-rupture Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuels via pressure-assisted sintering route, J. Nucl. Mater. (2020)
10. Ang, S. Judd, S. Zinkle, K. Benensky, Sintering of niobium carbide as a candidate Ultra High Temperature Ceramic (UHTC) matrix for Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuel concepts, Int. J. of Cer. Eng. Sci. (2019)
11. Ang, C. Kemery, Y. Katoh, Electroplating chromium on CVD SiC and SiCf-SiC advanced cladding via PyC compatibility coating, J. Nucl. Mater. (2018)
12. Ang, C.M. Parish, C. Shih, C. Silva, Y. Katoh, Microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium aluminum carbides neutron irradiated at 400–700°C, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc (2017)
13. Ang, C. Silva, C. Shih, T. Koyanagi, Y. Katoh, S.J. Zinkle, Anisotropic swelling and microcracking of neutron irradiated Ti3AlC2–Ti5Al2C3 materials, Scr. Mater. (2016)
14. Ang, J.K. Thomson, J.O. Kiggans Jr, C. Kemery, Y. Katoh, K.A. Terrani, Development of Environmental Barrier Coatings for operational conditions of SiC cladding in Light Water Reactors, Trans. Amer. Nucl. Soc. (2015)
15. Ang, T. Williams, D. Vowles, C. Wood, A. Seeber, Y.-B. Cheng, Influence of sol–gel derived ZrO2 and ZrC additions on microstructure and properties of ZrB2 composites, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. (2014)
16. Ang, T. Williams, A. Seeber, H. Wang, Y.B. Cheng, Synthesis and evolution of zirconium carbide via sol–gel route: features of nanoparticle oxide–carbon reactions, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. (2013)