Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Michael McGuire has received the lab’s Director’s Award for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology and the Distinguished Researcher award for his leadership and contributions to materials research.

UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL for the Department of Energy, honored 24 individuals and teams at Saturday’s Awards Night event at The Venue at Lenoir City. The awards recognize excellence in research, operations and community engagement, and ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer concluded the event by presenting four Director’s Awards selected from among those honorees.

“Michael’s achievements represent ORNL’s standing as one of the world’s foremost centers for materials research,” Streiffer said. “Materials are key to solving the most difficult challenges in energy and the environment, as well as providing the basis for technical and economic progress that improves the lives of people all over the globe. Basic science investigations exemplified by Michael’s work establish the pathways to these advances.”

McGuire was cited “for leadership and continued contributions to our understanding of complex materials through the synthesis and characterization of new correlated electron materials important to clean energy technologies.” He leads the Correlated Electron Materials group in the Materials Science and Technology Division. His research involves using crystal growth, solid state chemistry and metallurgical synthesis techniques, crystallographic studies and physical property measurements to explore structure-property relationships in complex materials, with particular emphasis on magnetism.

McGuire’s recognition as the lab’s top scientist headlined the annual awards. Streiffer also presented Director’s Awards to two teams, for operational performance and continuous improvement, and to the night’s science communicator awardee.