PNNL

Darrell Herling, PNNL materials scientist and project manager, was recognized for his leadership in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Powertrain Materials Core Program. The honor was given to Herling and his two collaborators at the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office’s Annual Merit Review in June.

Herling, along with Allen Haynes of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Dileep Singh of Argonne National Laboratory, were recognized for “joint leadership in establishing cooperation and coordination among the three national laboratory teams participating in the Powertrain Materials Core Program.”

According to the award, their efforts enabled team researchers to gain access to the best materials characterization and computational tools across the three laboratories and maximized facility use, accelerating materials research at each of the laboratories.

The team was nominated by Jerry Gibbs, technology development manager for propulsion materials within the Vehicle Technologies Office.

The Powertrain Materials Core Program was launched as part of DOE’s effort to develop lighter-weight vehicles that foster greater fuel efficiency. The goal of the program is to enable weight reduction in powertrains—the main components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface. Lighter-weight powertrains will improve efficiency across a wide range of vehicle types.

Herling joined PNNL in 1994 and is the director of the Lightweight Materials National Laboratory Consortium, a network of 11 national laboratories that provide technical expertise and capabilities to industry for developing more lightweight on-highway vehicles.