Two scientific awards, two different stories, one common thread: research that genuinely serves the construction of next-generation nuclear reactors. Ahmed Arabi Hassen, leader of the Composites Innovation group at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT). A few weeks earlier, Bai Cui, professor of mechanical and materials engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, became a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society — the first faculty member at that institution to receive the honour.
Hassen’s work most directly relevant to nuclear energy involves large-format 3D printing applied to the fabrication of high-precision composite moulds for advanced reactors. The project, which earned the ORNL team the 2026 SME Aubin Additive Manufacturing Case Study Award, demonstrated how additive manufacturing can dramatically cut the cost and construction time of next-generation energy systems without compromising quality requirements. The moulds must withstand the enormous pressures exerted by the heavy concrete they are designed to shape — this is not merely a matter of geometry, but of structural integrity under stress. In 2025, Hassen and his collaborators had already received the CAMX Award for Composites Excellence for a similar approach applied to rocket nozzles, using modular additive manufacturing and industrial-scale soluble tooling.
Cui’s profile is different but equally grounded in practical application. His Materials for Extreme Environments laboratory develops high-entropy ceramics — materials with complex, multi-component chemical structures — engineered to withstand extreme temperatures, corrosion, and irradiation. His group published the first peer-reviewed study on high-entropy carbides and subsequently demonstrated their exceptional radiation resistance, a critical data point for any reactor-environment application. The laser technologies developed by the lab — ranging from selective laser sintering for ceramics to a patented high-temperature laser shock peening system — round out a toolkit that covers both materials synthesis and the enhancement of their mechanical and resistance properties.
Cui’s impact extends well beyond laboratory research. He secured $1.4 million in funding from the Department of Energy to establish Nebraska’s Nuclear Reactor Safety Training and Workforce Development Program. The programme brings together the university, the Nebraska Public Power District, and Idaho National Laboratory, with the goal of building the technical expertise needed to operate and build the reactors of the future. It is an investment in the human capital pipeline, not just in basic research.
These two awards come at a moment when the American nuclear industry is working hard to close the gap between research and the construction site. It needs materials that genuinely perform under irradiation. It needs faster and more cost-effective construction techniques. And it needs engineers skilled enough to deploy them. The fact that the sector’s leading scientific societies are recognising work that addresses precisely these three needs says something about the industry’s real priorities. If the next generation of advanced reactors is built faster and with more reliable materials, researchers like Hassen and Cui will deserve a significant share of the credit.
