The paper, titled "Creep and Creep Rupture Behavior of a Continuous Strand, Swirl Mat Reinforced Polymer Composite in Automotive Environments," was cited in the design category of the product awards competition.
The paper covers research into lightweight materials for fuel-efficient automobiles sponsored by DOE's Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies. Polymers could be used to replace some metal parts in automobiles. Since polymers are not strong enough, glass fibers are added, and the combination is called a composite material.
Brinkman is group leader of the Metals and Ceramics Division at ORNL where he performs research and development work on metals, ceramics and polymeric composite materials. He is a fellow of both the American Society for Testing and Materials and the American Society for Materials (ASM) International. He holds a doctorate from the University of Utah in Metallurgical and Ceramic Engineering. Brinkman and his wife, Carol, live in Knoxville. They have five adult children.
Ren is a post-doctoral fellow, contract project engineer and research assistant professor at the University of Tennessee's Center for Materials Processing, working with the Metals and Ceramics division at ORNL. He also worked at ORNL while a doctoral candidate at the University of Tennessee. Ren is the chairman of publicity for the Oak Ridge chapter of ASM International and was a recipient of the ASM President's Award. He and his wife, Shelly, live in Knoxville. They have two children, Shawn and Jaye.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.