Department of Nuclear Engineering Associate Professor Ilja Popovs and Assistant Professor Alex Ivanov were both involved in projects that received a 2026 R&D 100 Award, which is considered the most prestigious worldwide science and innovation prize recognizing new commercial products, technologies, and materials for their technological significance that are available for sale or license.
This year’s R&D 100 Award winners were selected from 149 finalists across six categories. The projects worked on by Popovs and Ivanov both received an award in the Processing/Prototyping category.
For Popovs, the R&D 100 Award was his third overall and first since joining the Tickle College of Engineering faculty last year.
“It is an honor to be part of the team receiving this recognition,” said Popovs, the Pietro F. Pasqua Faculty Fellow in NE. “For me, the award reflects both the creativity behind the science and the sustained teamwork needed to turn a promising idea into a useful technology.”
Ivanov, an early career faculty fellow, contributed to Electrochemical CO2 Graphitization (ECOG), which received an award in the Process/Prototyping category. ECOG converts carbon dioxide directly into high-purity graphitic carbon at significantly lower temperatures than conventional graphite-manufacturing processes.
“Graphite is everywhere in modern technology—from Tesla and other EV batteries to electronics, energy storage, and nuclear reactors. Today, graphite is produced mainly through mining and very energy-intensive processes that require extremely high temperatures,” Ivanov said. “ECOG takes a very different approach: it converts carbon dioxide gas directly into high-purity graphitic carbon at much lower temperatures. That could make graphite production more affordable, more sustainable, and less dependent on conventional mining and fossil-derived materials.”
Deeper Exploration
Popovs contributed to the project, Neutral Extractant Advanced Rare Earth Separation Technology (NEAREST). The underlying separation science involved in NEAREST also connects naturally to the nuclear fuel cycle, where recovering useful materials from used fuel and managing radioactive waste require precise chemical separations. Popovs is eager to explore these connections at UT and help students understand how fundamental chemistry can address practical engineering challenges.
“UT’s strengths in nuclear engineering and its close relationship with Oak Ridge National Laboratory provide a valuable foundation for this work,” Popovs said. “My hope is that discoveries made here in Tennessee will become technologies that strengthen American manufacturing, support more sustainable nuclear energy, and create opportunities for our students to lead. I want them to see that a question asked in the laboratory can ultimately influence how an industry operates.”
Ivanov is excited about the future potential of ECOG. His research group hopes to expand the technology toward applications such as nuclear reactor-grade graphite, which could provide a lower-cost domestic source of an important material for advanced nuclear energy.
“That is especially relevant for Tennessee, where the nuclear industry is growing rapidly,” Ivanov said. “These future projects will also give our students hands-on experience in process development and manufacturing, helping build the skilled workforce that this industry will need.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])