Dr. Brenda L Garcia-Diaz

Dr. Garcia-Diaz has had a passion for electrochemical technologies since graduate school and was one of the reasons she decided to research Direct Methanol Fuel Cells while earning her Doctorate in Chemical Engineering. Dr. Garcia-Diaz has worked with Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) since 2007 she creates and leads dynamic teams that find solutions to challenging material science challenges (e.g. concentrating solar power (CSP) corrosion, fusion energy, and accident tolerant fuel (ATF) development).  She has been the overall PI or SRNL co-PI on projects with: 1) the DOE Solar Energy Technology Office Sunshot program, 2) the Office of Science Fusion Energy Program (FEP), and 3) the DOE Nuclear Energy projects.  Dr. Garcia-Diaz was the program manager on nuclear material storage programs looking at corrosion and degradation in nuclear material storage containers before being promoted to SRNL Energy Materials Research Manager.  Brenda is currently leading Gen 3 molten salt corrosion mitigation efforts within the DOE SunShot program through three projects led by SRNL and NREL.  She also serves on the Hanford Tank Integrity Expert Panel that reviews research and solutions for corrosion related issues at the DOE Hanford Site.  Dr. Garcia-Diaz has won the ASM Silver Award, the South Carolina Governor's Young Scientist Award, and the inaugural SRNL Most Valuable Project award for LDRD return on investment. She is a board member for the AIChE RAPID consortium for Process Intensification and is a member of External Advisory Boards for the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.  Dr. Garcia-Diaz served as a committee member on the National Academy of Science report entitled "Bringing Fusion to the US Grid".