Caen Ang is a research assistant professor with the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Clean Manufacturing & Advanced Materials Convergent Research Initiative. Ang also holds an appointment with UT’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. 

Ang’s research covers the understanding of the synthesis, properties, and testing of advanced materials for plasma facing materials and associated fusion technologies. He directs the Department of Nuclear Engineering’s High Temperature Materials Laboratory. 

Ang developed high temperature materials, cladding and elements for the Advanced Technologies Division of Ultra Safe Nuclear from 2021 – 2024. He was responsible for fabrication and critical assessment of fuel elements for direct (nuclear) thermal propulsion, conceptualization of radioisotope fuel targets for commercial RTG/RHUs, and development Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuels. He has personally overseen the design and failure testing of high temperature (T > 2000K) fuels, synthesis of tritium breeding technologies and processing via sinter-forging. 

In 2020, he was the recipient of the UT Research Faculty/Associate Excellence Award in 2020 and is credited with the successful establishment of the high temperature materials capability in UT’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. 

Education