Matthew McDowell joined Georgia Tech in the fall of 2015 as an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering. Prior to this appointment, he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. McDowell received his Ph.D. in 2013 from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University.

McDowell’s research group focuses on understanding how materials for energy and electronic devices change and transform during operation, and how these transformations impact properties. The group uses in situ experimental techniques to probe materials transformations under realistic conditions. The fundamental scientific advances made by the group guide the engineering of materials for breakthrough new devices. Current projects in the group are focused on i) electrode materials for alkali ion batteries, ii) materials for solid-state batteries, iii) interfaces in chalcogenide materials for electronics and catalysis, and iv) new methods for creating nanostructured metals.

Dr. Christopher “Scott” McWhorter is Lead for Federal Energy Strategy and National Laboratory Partnerships and a Senior Research Engineer within the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In this role, he leads Georgia Tech’s federal energy strategy, national laboratory engagement, and large-scale interdisciplinary research development efforts, helping position the Institute to compete for transformative federal research investments across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Commerce, and other federal agencies. He works closely with faculty, industry, national laboratories, and government stakeholders to develop strategic partnerships, advance technology commercialization, and expand Georgia Tech’s research portfolio in energy, manufacturing, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and national security. 

Dr. McWhorter brings more than twenty-five years of experience spanning national laboratories, federal government, academia, and technology startups. His technical expertise encompasses hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, advanced energy storage materials, critical minerals and supply chains, grid modernization, advanced manufacturing, sensors and spectroscopy, technology commercialization, and strategic energy policy. Throughout his career, he has led the development and management of multidisciplinary research programs valued at hundreds of millions of dollars while helping organizations secure more than $750 million in competitive federal funding. 

At Georgia Tech, Dr. McWhorter has played a leading role in developing major institutional initiatives focused on hydrogen, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and federal research partnerships. He serves as Co-Principal Investigator on a $20 million Department of Defense program focused on the manufacturing science of galvanic aluminum-based hydrogen generation technologies and has led numerous efforts to connect Georgia Tech researchers with federal agencies, national laboratories, industry partners, and regional innovation ecosystems. He previously served as Interim Managing Director of the Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (Georgia AIM) initiative and Interim Executive Director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing 4.0 Consortium, where he expanded industry engagement and strengthened partnerships across the manufacturing sector. 

Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Dr. McWhorter served in multiple executive and scientific leadership roles at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), including Director of Strategic Programs, Division Director for Energy Science and Technology, Director of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program, and Senior Advisory Scientist. He managed research portfolios exceeding $75 million annually and led multidisciplinary organizations of more than 65 scientists, engineers, and technical staff. During his tenure, he significantly expanded SRNL’s clean energy research portfolio, helped establish the laboratory’s Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative, and played a central role in the formation of several Manufacturing USA institutes, including the RAPID Manufacturing Institute and CESMII Smart Manufacturing Institute. 

Dr. McWhorter served as a Science and Clean Energy Technical Advisor for the Hydrogen Storage Program at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office. In that role, he provided technical leadership for a research portfolio exceeding $20 million annually, contributed to national hydrogen storage strategies and performance targets, guided funding opportunity development, and supported the advancement of next-generation hydrogen storage technologies. His work helped shape DOE research priorities that continue to influence the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell systems today. 

Dr. McWhorter’s research contributions span hydrogen storage materials, advanced energy systems, critical minerals recovery, spectroscopy and sensing technologies, advanced materials characterization, and microfluidic systems. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, invited chapters, and patents, including foundational contributions to hydrogen storage technologies, energy systems analysis, optical sensing platforms, and advanced materials processing. His recent work has focused on critical minerals recovery from mining and industrial waste streams, domestic supply chain resilience, and the integration of advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence technologies to strengthen U.S. energy and industrial competitiveness. 

In addition to his research and leadership activities, Dr. McWhorter is a recognized national leader in hydrogen and clean energy deployment. He serves as Chairman of the Board of the Southeast Hydrogen Energy Alliance (SHEA), where he has helped build one of the nation’s largest regional hydrogen stakeholder networks and advance strategies supporting hydrogen infrastructure, workforce development, and commercialization across the Southeastern United States. He also serves on numerous advisory boards and technical review panels for federal agencies, manufacturing institutes, universities, and industry organizations. 

Dr. McWhorter earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Louisiana State University and completed an ORISE Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Savannah River National Laboratory. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for excellence in research leadership, business development, technology transfer, and strategic program development, receiving multiple laboratory and national awards for advancing clean energy innovation and commercialization. His work continues to focus on accelerating the development and deployment of technologies that strengthen U.S. energy security, manufacturing competitiveness, and economic prosperity. Selected Recent Publications: 1. Tang, Y.; McWhorter, S. Kaolin Tailings Are Georgia's Hidden Gateway to Critical Minerals in AI Era. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 19, 2025. https://www.ajc.com/opinion/2025/12/kaolin-tailings-are-georgias-hidden-gateway-to-critical-minerals-in-ai-era/ (accessed 2026-06-01). 2. Tang, Y. and McWhorter, S. "How the US Can Mine Its Own Critical Minerals — without Digging New Holes." The Conversation, 30 July 2025, https://theconversation.com/how-the-us-can-mine-its-own-critical-minerals-without-digging-new-holes-252609. 3. Grady, C., McWhorter, S., Sulic, M., Sprik, S.J., Thorton, M.J., Brooks, K.P., Tamburello, D.A., Design Tool for Estimating Adsorbent Hydrogen Storage System Characteristics for Light-Duty Fuel Cell Vehicles. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 47, 29847, 2022. 4. Zidan, R., McWhorter, S., Enabling a Flexible Grid with Increased Penetration of DER: Techno-economic Analysis of Metal Hydride Thermochemical Energy Storage Integrated with Stirling Engine for Grid Energy Storage Applications. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.2172/1632839.

Jinho Park, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Scientist of  the Resilient Infrastructure and Supply Chain (RISC) Unit, the Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research (CIPHER) Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). At the GTRI, he has been participating in several industry- and state-sponsored projects related to energy, environmental, and health technologies. Jinho has been working on design/synthesis/characterization of functional materials along with their applications toward energy storage systems (Li-ion batteries, all-solid state batteries, supercapacitors, and phase change materials), energy conversion systems (fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and ammonia cracking), multifunction sensors, etc. He is also involved in commercialization of for novel technologies through increasing their TRL/CRL as well as developing a commercialization roadmap.

Prior to joining the GTRI, he has worked in School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and School of Mechanical Engineering of the Georgia Tech as a graduate research assistant and a postdoctoral fellow, respectively, conducting researches in materials for advanced energy storage/conversion systems. Notably, he has worked with several automotive companies, such as General Motors, Toyota Motor Corp., and Nissan Motor Company for seeking to a high-performance fuel cell electrocatalysts and with Samsung Electronics for a research of a next-generation Li-ion battery.

Jinho Park holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Sogang University (Seoul, South Korea), a Master of Science degree in Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering from Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia).

Dr. Chance retired from Global Thermostat at the end of 2022, where he served as a Senior Science Advisor. He continues at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he serves as an Adjunct Professor. Dr. Chance began his career with Honeywell Corporation, holding a number of research positions including Research Manager for Electronic Materials.

In 1986, he joined Exxon as the Director of their Polymers and Fluids Laboratory, later serving as Division Manager for their Paramins Technology division, and as Distinguished Scientific Advisor in ExxonMobil’s Corporate Strategic Research Laboratories. Dr. Chance retired from ExxonMobil in 2006 and joined the Georgia Institute of Technology as a faculty member with a joint appointment in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, continuing also as Distinguished Scientific Advisor Emeritus at ExxonMobil from 2006-2009. 

He joined Algenol Biofuels (2009-2019) as Executive Vice President for Engineering. Dr. Chance's scientific interests are focused on CO² capture and utilization, including Direct Air Capture, as a mitigation strategy for climate change. 

Dr. Chance has organized several international scientific meetings and served on numerous university and industrial advisory boards. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles, edited two books, and authored over 30 patents. He was elected Fellow in The American Physical Society in 1988 and was the 2018 recipient of the Lawrence B. Evans Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, an institute level award for career achievement.

Professor Citrin earned a B.A. from Williams College (1985) and a M.S. (1987) and a Ph.D. (1991) from the University of Illinois, all in physics, where his dissertation was on the optical properties of semiconductor quantum wires. Subsequently, he was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart, Germany (1992-1993) and Center Fellow at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science at the University of Michigan (1993-1995). Dr. Citrin was an assistant professor of physics and materials science at Washington State University (1995 to 2001).

Professor Citrin joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2001 where his work focuses on terahertz technology and nanotechnology. He is a recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and of a Friedrich Bessel Award from the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung. In addition, he is Project Coordinator on Nonlinear Optics and Dynamics at Georgia Tech-CNRS UMI 2958 located at Georgia Tech-Lorraine. Professor Citrin’s research in terahertz imaging is featured in the Georgia Tech press release, ”Imaging Technique Unlocks the Secrets of 17th Century Artists"; a list of some media placements from the press release may be found at http://photonics.georgiatech-metz.fr/node/33.

Research interests: 

• Terahertz nondestructive testing of materials
• Terahertz characterization of art and cultural heritage
• Chaos and nonlinear dynamics in external-cavity semiconductor lasers
• Nanophotonics
• High-speed electronic, photonic, and optoelectronic devices
• Nonlinear optical properties of semiconductor materials and devices

Bojan Petrovic joined Georgia Tech in 2007 as a Professor. Prior to that he acquired industrial experience as a Fellow Scientist in Westinghouse Science and Technology where his primary responsibility was as the project Deputy Director on the development of the advanced, modular IRIS reactor.

Dr. Petrovic's current research focuses on advanced reactor design, nuclear fuel cycle and waste management, and related modeling and simulation methods.

Over the past ten years, he has been involved in the development of the IRIS Reactor, within an international team of 19 organizations from ten countries. IRIS is an advanced medium power (335 MWe) integral-type PWR, based on proven light-water technology, but incorporating many innovative solutions that improve its operation, safety, security, and economics. Advanced reactors have the potential to offer full benefit in synergy with advanced fuel cycles. Recently, the focus of this research is shifting to judicious selection of fuel cycle, reprocessing, and partition and transmutation options, which  may significantly reduce the radiotoxicity of spent nuclear fuel and enable its safe and economical ultimate disposal.

Novel reactor designs and advanced fuel cycles pose new challenges and require improved, more accurate methods of modeling and simulations. Dr. Petrovic's interest is in developing approaches for using Monte Carlo and hybrid deterministic-Monte Carlo methods (for eigenvalue as well as shielding applications) in a way that will be practical and relevant for analysis of complex nuclear systems.

Dr. Petrovic has a strong interest in interdisciplinary areas, and his research projects have included collaboration related to industrial and medical applications of nuclear technology. His recent research in computational medical physics focuses on proton therapy. His research has been sponsored by the Department of Energy, industry and utilities.

Dr. Dan Kotlyar is an Assistant Professor in the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, G.W.W. School of Mechanical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Engineering in 2008, MSc in Nuclear Engineering in 2010, and PhD in Nuclear Engineering in 2013 from Ben-Gurion University, Israel. In 2014, he joined the University of Cambridge as a Research Associate in the Engineering Design Center. In 2014, he was elected as a Research Fellow at Jesus College. He is the recipient of the NRC Faculty Development Fellowship. Dr. Kotlyar’s research interests include development of numerical methods and algorithms for coupled Monte Carlo, fuel depletion and thermal hydraulic codes. In particular, he specializes in applying these methods to the analysis of advanced reactor systems. Dr. Kotlyar’s research also focuses on optimizing the performance of various fuel cycles in terms of fuel utilization, proliferation, and cost. Dr. Kotlyar profoundly believes in education through research and thus integrates practical reactor system design into his lectures.

Materials for membranes, sorbents, and barrier packaging applications rely upon the same fundamental principles. Thermodynamically controlled partitioning of a penetrant, such as carbon dioxide into a membrane, sorbent or barrier packaging layer is the first step in the transport process. If the material is a polymer, cooperative motions of the matrix enable diffusive motion by the penetrant. In highly rigid carbon molecular sieves and zeolites, motion of the matrix is negligible, and penetrant transport is governed by the relative size of pre-existing pores and the penetrant molecule.

Koros’s group is a leader in developing advanced materials for membranes, sorbents, and barrier applications by optimization materials to either promote or retard transport of specific components. For instance, for a chosen penetrant such as carbon dioxide, the Koros group can create a barrier, a selective membrane, or a sorbent by materials engineering. Work is also underway in the Koros group to form “mixed matrix composite” materials comprised of blends of metal organic framework or other specialty components within the matrix of a conventional polymer. This approach allows further optimization of transport properties without sacrificing the ease of processing associated with conventional polymers.

Effects due to non equilibrium thermodynamic and non-Fickian transport phenomena are additional topics his group studies. Long lived conditioning effects due to exposure of membranes and barriers to elevated concentrations of certain penetrants are typical of such non equilibrium phenomena. Protracted aging of glassy polymers, carbons, and inorganic membranes after formation or conditioning treatments also are of interest to his research group. In many cases, these effects seem to defy logic—until one realizes that an expanded set of rules governs these out-of-equilibrium materials.

Research Interests

• Creating, understanding, and engineering nanoporous materials and membranes through innovative processing strategies.
• Basic and applied problems in advanced separations, process intensification, energy production and storage, petro- and bio-based chemicals and materials, and critical materials.

Teaching Interests

Professor Nair’s teaching interests encompass core chemical engineering principles at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including separations, process safety engineering, and advanced materials. His instruction emphasizes foundational concepts and their practical applications, aiming to develop strong analytical and problem-solving skills. He actively engages students in learning processes that integrate theoretical knowledge with experimental understanding, supporting development across chemical engineering disciplines.

Education

B.Tech ChE 1997, Indian Institute of Technology DelhiM.S. Physics 2002, Univ. of Massachusetts AmherstPh.D. ChE 2002, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst

Recent Publications

VD Brandão, O Long, S Zhong, R Fushio, A Venkataraman, H Song, ..., Local pH Effects on the Temperature Dependence of Product Formation in CO2 Electrolyzers, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026

M Realff, Q Fu, Y Chiang, S Nair, Adsorption System and Process for Biofuel Precursor and Adsorbent Material for the Same, US Patent App. 19/068,859, 2025

N Yutthasaksunthorn, KSK Zaw, SA Sinquefield, S Nair, Pillared and Reduced Graphene Oxide Membranes for Organic Solvent Nanofiltration, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 64 (38), 18817-18825, 2025

OA Ojelade, S Nair, CW Jones, Thermodynamic Analysis of the Hydrodeoxygenation of Hydroxy Acid Mixtures, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 64 (47), 22552-22562, 2025

N Yutthasaksunthorn, Y Chang, VS Nguyen, KSK Zaw, SA Sinquefield, ..., Graphene Oxide Membranes for Sustainable Recycling: Poly (styrene) Fractionation by Organic Solvent Nanofiltration, ACS Engineering Au, 2025

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