Peter T. Cummings — John R. Hall Professor of Chemical Engineering at Vanderbilt University and director of the Nanomaterials Theory Institute of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory – has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society.
Cummings was elected for “contributions to our molecular understanding of industrially relevant fluids and processes, and for national leadership in applied molecular modeling and computational nanoscience,” according to a letter from the society informing him of his election.
His research focuses on computer-based modeling of chemical, biological and materials systems, with particular recent emphasis on nanoscience and nanotechnology applications of such systems.
Cummings has authored more than 270 refereed journal papers on these topics that have appeared is such publications as the Journal of American Physics, the Journal of Chemical Physics and Physical Review Letters. He is a frequently invited speaker at international meetings throughout the world.
He edits the publication Fluid Phase Equilibria, one of the world’s prominent engineering thermodynamics journals, and has frequently served at the national level on advisory committees planning future research focuses for federal funding of research.
Cummings earned a bachelor’s degree in 1976 with first class honors in mathematics from the University of New Castle in Australia before earning a doctorate in 1980 in applied mathematics from Australia’s Melbourne University. He has been associated with ORNL since 1994.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.
Media contacts:
Fred Strohl, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, (865) 574-4165
strohlhf@ornl.gov
Vivian Cooper, (615) 343-6314
vivian.f.cooper@vanderbilt.edu