He has been a world-leading pioneer in the development and application of hard x-ray synchrotron techniques for materials science and has extensive experience in building and managing synchrotron x-ray instrumentation and beamlines. Prior to becoming APS Director in 2010, he had been involved for many years in carrying out research at the APS and in developing the proposal for the APS Upgrade Project.
His highly cited work includes establishing the existence of ferroelectricity in ultrathin ferroelectric films, the observation of speckle in the diffraction of coherent x-rays, and the nanometer focusing of x-rays using multilayer Laue lenses.
He has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications, is a co-inventor on three patents and is a fellow of the American Physical Society.
Stephenson joins four other Argonne scientists as new Distinguished Fellows. They are Khalil Amine, head of the Technology Development Group in the Battery Technology Department of the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division; Larry Johnson, Director of the Transportation Technology R&D Center; Ernst Rehm, Senior Physicist in the Physics Division; and Marc Snir, Director of the Mathematics and Computer Science Division.
The Argonne Distinguished Fellow title is comparable in stature to an endowed chair at a top-ranked university and recognizes exceptional contributions in a person's field. It is the Laboratory’s highest scientific and engineering ranking. The rank is given for sustained outstanding scientific and engineering research and can also be associated with outstanding technical leadership of major, complex, high-priority projects.
The Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory is one of five national synchrotron radiation light sources supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to carry out applied and basic research to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels, provide the foundations for new energy technologies, and support DOE missions in energy, environment, and national security. To learn more about the Office of Science x-ray user facilities, visit http://science.energy.gov/user-facilities/basic-energy-sciences/.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.