Zachary Tener
Expertise
My interests center on magnetism, material property characterization, and magnet applications toward sustainable manufacturing, environmental, energy, and critical materials challenges. I have training in solid state chemistry and synthesis, crystallography, and neutron and synchrotron X-ray scattering experiments.
Beyond the Lab
When I'm not at a beamline, you'll find me playing board games, card games, video games, and tabletop RPGs — or badly playing musical instruments. I believe in science communication and making complex materials research accessible.
Synchrotron & Beamline Work
Read about experiments I've performed at synchrotrons and beamlines in the U.S. and internationally.
→ Read moreResearch
My work bridges AI for materials, electrochemistry, critical materials recovery, and sustainable manufacturing. As part of the U.S. Genesis Mission, I'm developing machine learning models for waste valorization across critical material supply chains. My other current projects include electromagnetic heating coupled with electrochemical cells to convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals, novel pathways to recycle germanium from end-of-life optical fibers, and techno-economic analysis of electrified cement production. I serve as Lead PI on the DOE REMELT program ($1M) developing low-temperature rare earth metallization, and as Principal Investigator on hydrogen recombiner catalyst studies supporting safe nuclear waste storage.
Background
I'm trained in solid state chemistry, crystallography, and neutron and synchrotron X-ray scattering. My earlier research focused on the magnetism and crystal chemistry of intermetallic compounds — work that continues to inform how I approach structure–property relationships in the materials I study today.
Bio for Conferences & Talks
Zachary Tener is a Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator at Savannah River National Laboratory with over a decade of experience in materials synthesis and characterization. At SRNL, he plays a central role in building the laboratory's critical materials portfolio — bridging fundamental chemistry with real-world sustainability challenges. His research spans electrochemical CO₂ conversion, germanium recovery from end-of-life optical fibers, techno-economic pathways toward electrified cement production, AI-enabled waste valorization through the Genesis Mission, and low-temperature rare earth metallization (DOE REMELT). His earlier work mapping magnetic structure in intermetallic compounds at the atomic scale established the foundation in structure–property relationships that now drives his approach to some of the most pressing questions in critical and energy materials.
Synthesis & Processing
Arc-melting · Induction melting · Flux-based crystal growth · Chemical vapor transport · Inert-atmosphere synthesis (glovebox) · HDDR processing of Nd2Fe14B rare-earth magnets · Thermomagnetic processing (up to 1100 °C / 9 T)
X-ray, Neutron & Magnetic Characterization
Powder X-ray diffraction (Rigaku MiniFlex, SmartLab; PANalytical X'Pert; Bruker D2 Phaser) · Synchrotron PXRD · Polarized and non-polarized neutron powder diffraction · Mössbauer spectroscopy · SQUID magnetometry (DC & AC) · Quantitative Rietveld refinement (HighScore+, FullProf, GSAS-II) · Structure solution and quantitative phase analysis · SEM/EDS · 1H NMR
Method Development & Instrumentation
Full instrument lifecycle ownership (design, calibration, operation, advanced troubleshooting, SOP authoring) · Invented novel in-situ neutron diffraction method for bulk metallic materials under applied magnetic fields up to 9 T at temperatures up to 1100 °C · Preventive maintenance and method validation across X-ray and neutron platforms
Computational & Software
Electronic structure (VASP, LMTO, FPLO) · Python for data cleanup, fitting, and visualization · Origin · Crystallographic data analysis workflows
National & International Facilities
SRNL · ORNL (SNS and HFIR) · Ames Laboratory · Argonne APS (beamlines 3-ID, 16-BM, 11-BM) · DESY PETRA III · European XFEL · ESRF
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Identified skyrmion-like spin textures in a material whose structural frustration enables novel magnetic topology.J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025
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Resolved thermocouple measurement challenges in furnaces operated inside 9 T superconducting magnets — methodology underpinning in-situ studies at extreme conditions.IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas. 2025, 74
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Demonstrated that applying a 2 T magnetic field throughout the HDDR process alters the resulting powder properties — relevant to next-generation permanent magnet manufacturing.Metals 2024, 14(3), 294
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Characterized a series of intermetallic solid solutions using neutron diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and electronic band structure calculations to reveal how cobalt substitution tunes magnetic ordering.Inorg. Chem. 2022, 61, 4257–4269
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Combined polarized and non-polarized neutron powder diffraction with DFT calculations to map the magnetization distribution in a soft ferromagnet with TC = 316 K.J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 2021, 529, 167827
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Showed that pressure-driven electron density redistribution defies conventional oxidation state assignments, revealed through X-ray absorption spectroscopy and band structure calculations.Chem. Eur. J. 2019, 25, 6311–6319
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Re-investigated the Mn–Al phase diagram between 45–70 at.% Al using single crystal X-ray diffraction and Sn-flux growth to establish atomic site distributions.Z. Kristallogr. 2017, 232, 601–610
Full publication list available on Google Scholar and ORCID.
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U.S. Patent 12,521,668 B2 — Carbon-Capture Sorbent RegenerationMethodology for regeneration of sorbents used in carbon capture systems.Issued January 2026 · with UT-Battelle
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U.S. Patent 12,106,878 B2 — Magnetocaloric Regenerators Comprising Materials Containing Cobalt, Manganese, Boron, and CarbonMaterials and process design for magnetocaloric regenerator beds in solid-state cooling applications.Issued October 2024 · Licensed to BASF SE
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U.S. Patent Application 18/585,633 — Magnetic Anisotropy Measurement MethodNovel measurement method for characterizing magnetic anisotropy in bulk metallic specimens.Pending · Filed February 2024 · with UT-Battelle and Iowa State University
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DOE Critical Materials — REMELT (FOA 3105) · $1MRare Earth Metallization by Eutectic at Low Temperatures — industrially scalable, low-temperature (<900 °C) eutectic process for rare-earth oxide reduction.
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DOE Thermomagnetic Processing Technology Program (DE-EE0009131) · $11.1M totalDesigned and operated in-situ neutron diffraction and high-field induction heating experiments for the multi-institution collaboration on rare-earth metals processing.
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Critical Materials Institute HDDR Project (DE-AC05-00OR22725) · $270K/yrLed experimental HDDR processing of Nd-Fe-B alloys within applied magnetic fields.
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NSF — Pressure, Mixed Valence & Spin Frustration in Itinerant Magnets (1905499) · $488KHigh-pressure synchrotron and neutron experiments characterizing itinerant magnetism in intermetallic compounds.
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BASF SE — Magnetocaloric Properties in AlFe2B2-Derived Materials · $300KSynthesized and characterized novel magnetocaloric compounds; contributed to patent now licensed to BASF SE.