The 2026 R&D 100 Awards recognized 100 of the world’s most significant new technologies — and we’re thrilled to celebrate a Bredesen Center student and several UT–ORNL joint researchers, faculty and mentors who contributed to this year’s award-winning teams.
We also want to congratulate Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a record-setting year, earning 22 R&D 100 Awards— the most in its history. ORNL led 18 winning technologies and contributed to four additional winners led by partner institutions.
We’re especially proud to celebrate these members of the UT–ORII community:
- Parans Paranthaman — Named the 2026 R&D 100 Researcher of the Year. An ORNL distinguished corporate fellow, Paranthaman also holds a joint appointment as a professor and graduate adviser in UT–ORII’s Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education.
- Yilu Liu — UT–ORNL Governor’s Chair for Power Grids and part of the team behind the Pulsar-Based Timing System: An Alternative Time Reference for Resilient Synchronization. Led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with ORNL, the technology uses signals from pulsars to provide a resilient timing reference for critical infrastructure when satellite-based timing is disrupted. Congratulations also retired ORNL distinguished scientist and Bredesen Center advisory committee member Peter Fuhr, who was part of this award-winning team. This marks Liu’s sixth R&D 100 Award in seven years.
- Umesh Marathe — UT–ORII assistant professor and researcher with our Circular Bioeconomy Systems Convergent Research Initiative, Marathe contributed to two winning technologies: the Recycled Next Generation Composite Oven (ReNGCO) and Multiplexing Extrusion System (MExS).
- Alex Ivanov — University of Tennessee, Knoxville, assistant professor of nuclear engineering and Bredesen Center mentor, Ivanov contributed to Electrochemical CO2 Graphitization (ECOG), a technology that converts carbon dioxide directly into high-purity graphitic carbon at significantly lower temperatures than conventional graphite manufacturing.
- William Doktycz — A Bredesen Center Energy Science and Engineering PhD student, Doktycz was part of the team behind the Affordable Efficient Thermoelectric Dishwasher with Enhanced Drying, developed with Samsung Electronics America to reduce energy consumption while improving drying performance.
These awards are a powerful example of what UT–ORII was created to do: bring together the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to advance world-class research while preparing the next generation of our nation’s top scientists and engineers.
From internationally recognized researchers to graduate students building their careers, we’re incredibly proud to see members of the UT–ORII community helping turn bold ideas into award-winning innovations.
Congratulations to all of the 2026 R&D 100 winners!
