David Cullen, a Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory distinguished R&D staff scientist, has been elected a Fellow of the Microscopy Society of America (MSA) , a professional honor recognizing sustained scientific achievement and service that advance the fields of microscopy and microanalysis.
The MSA Fellow designation is reserved for senior members who have made significant contributions through a combination of research excellence and service to the scientific community and the society. Fellows are elected by recommendation of MSA’s Fellows Committee, and individuals named MSA Distinguished Scientists are also granted Fellow status.
An expert in electron microscopy, Cullen focuses on applying advanced scanning transmission electron microscopy techniques to understand materials at the atomic scale. His research helps reveal how the arrangement of atoms — and the defects, interfaces and chemical environments around them — affects the performance of materials used in energy conversion technologies. These atomic-scale insights can inform the design of higher-performance materials for energy conversion, contributing (over time) to advances aligned with energy security and industrial competitiveness goals.
Since joining ORNL in 2010 as an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow, Cullen has built a research program centered on making precise, atom-by-atom measurements inside electrochemical devices such as fuel cells. He is a member of the Applied Microanalysis and Thermophysics Group in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division and collaborates with researchers across the national laboratory complex to connect nanoscale structure to real-world function.
Beyond his microscopy research, Cullen provides leadership in major DOE efforts aimed at accelerating discovery and deployment of advanced catalysts and energy conversion devices.
He serves as a principal investigator and steering committee member for multiple initiatives within DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, including the Multimodal Fuel Cell Technologies Consortium (2019-present) and the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (2024-present). These efforts coordinate teams and shared capabilities to address national challenges in fuel cells, catalysis, carbon utilization and chemical upscaling — areas where microscopy is essential for understanding why materials succeed or fail.
MSA’s Fellow recognition highlights the impact of microscopy and microanalysis on advancing science and technology. Electron microscopy provides the evidence needed to design materials with targeted properties and to validate models aiming to explain or predict materials behavior under operating conditions. By combining atomic-resolution imaging with analytical capabilities, scanning transmission electron microscopy offers a direct view of structure-property relationships that are otherwise difficult to observe, informing both fundamental understanding and applied development.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is committed to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science . — Scott Gibson