Phil Ferguson

Phillip D Ferguson

MPEX Project Director

Dr. Phillip Ferguson became the Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX) Project Director in August 2019. MPEX is a linear plasma device for materials testing which is being designed and constructed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). 

Prior to joining the MPEX project, Dr. Ferguson served as an ORNL division director for seven years, and before that led the neutron source development group and target station physics design at the Spallation Neutron Source. He also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, including serving as the target physics lead for the LANSCE Reliability Improvement Project (LRIP). 

Dr. Ferguson is a nuclear engineer whose primary research interests have involved the development of technology and neutron sources for a variety of applications including fundamental neutron science, condensed matter physics, materials irradiations, and isotope production. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1995.