Caen Ang is a research associate professor in the University of Tennessee–Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Fusion Technology and Materials for Extreme Environments Convergent Research Initiative. He also holds appointments with the University of Tennessee’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Ang is currently assigned the Advanced Manufacturing for Fusion Extremes portfolio and directing the NE High Temperature Materials Laboratory. His current goals are to understand the synthesis, properties, and testing of advanced materials for plasma facing materials and associated fusion technologies.

He 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.

Previously, 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 the NE department.

Education

Publications (selected)

B. Connor, C. Ang. “Analysis of initial stage densification kinetics of zirconium carbide (ZrC) powders.” Journal of the European Ceramic Society 45, No. 5 (2025): 117114.

B. Shaver, K. Wheeler, C. Ang, Development of SiC Encapsulation for Thulium Oxide Targets as Potential Nuclear Batteries, Journal of Nuclear Materials (2024) 155700

C. Ang, M. Phillips, K. Karl, T. Hinklin, B. Shaver, Ceramic Encapsulation for Commercial Non-plutonium Radioisotope Fuels, Proceedings of the 46th Annual Conference on Composites, Materials and Structures, St. Augustine, FL, 2023.

C. Ang, T. Hinklin, B. Connor, C. Hilliard, S. Yue, T. Ironman, E. Chaleff, G. Garside, Zirconium Carbide Circular Prismatic Core Geometries by Spark Plasma Sintering – An Empirical Perspective, Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, Cleveland, OH, 2022.

C. Hilliard, E. Deters, T. Ironman, T. Hinklin, C. Ang, Eliminating Open Porosity in FCM® Fuels, 45th Annual Conference on Composites, Materials and Structures, Cocoa Beach, FL, 2022.

C. Ang, M. Scott, E. Deters, A. Selby, Pulsed Electric Current Sintering for Fuel Element Fabrication, Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, Knoxville, TN, April 26th-30th, 2021, 2021.

C. Ang, L.L.Snead, Y.Kato, A logical approach for zero-rupture Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuels via pressure-assisted sintering route, J. Nucl. Mater. (2020)

C. Ang, S. Judd, S. Zinkle, K. Benensky, Sintering of niobium carbide as a candidate Ultra High Temperature Ceramic (UHTC) matrix for Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated (FCM) fuel concepts, Int. J. of Cer. Eng. Sci. (2019)

C. Ang, C. Kemery, Y. Katoh, Electroplating chromium on CVD SiC and SiCf-SiC advanced cladding via PyC compatibility coating, J. Nucl. Mater. (2018)

C. Ang, C.M. Parish, C. Shih, C. Silva, Y. Katoh, Microstructure and mechanical properties of titanium aluminum carbides neutron irradiated at 400–700°C, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc (2017)

C. Ang, C. Silva, C. Shih, T. Koyanagi, Y. Katoh, S.J. Zinkle, Anisotropic swelling and microcracking of neutron irradiated Ti3AlC2–Ti5Al2C3 materials, Scr. Mater. (2016)

C. Ang, J.K. Thomson, J.O. Kiggans Jr, C. Kemery, Y. Katoh, K.A. Terrani, Development of Environmental Barrier Coatings for operational conditions of SiC cladding in Light Water Reactors, Trans. Amer. Nucl. Soc. (2015)

C. Ang, T. Williams, D. Vowles, C. Wood, A. Seeber, Y.-B. Cheng, Influence of sol–gel derived ZrO2 and ZrC additions on microstructure and properties of ZrB2 composites, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. (2014)

C. Ang, T. Williams, A. Seeber, H. Wang, Y.B. Cheng, Synthesis and evolution of zirconium carbide via sol–gel route: features of nanoparticle oxide–carbon reactions, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. (2013)