Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

The Machining, Inspection and
Tribology User Center Staff


MITUC Staff Members

(Click on an image above for more information.)





Metals and Ceramics Division


sam.jpg (3267 bytes)Sam McSpadden is a 1973 graduate of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a research staff member in the Surface Processing and Mechanics group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Metals and Ceramics Division. Sam is currently the Leader of the High Temperature Materials Laboratory's Machining, Inspection, and Tribology User Center (MITUC).

Prior to his current assignment, Mr. McSpadden was the manager of a Navy ManTech project involving the development of a multi-sensor dimensional inspection system at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. He has also served as the leader of the Dimensional Metrology Group in the Y-12 Development Division, where he was responsible for the development of innovative inspection techniques in support of the Department of Energy's defense program needs.


Sam McSpadden
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6069
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6069

Phone: (865) 574-5444
Fax: (865) 574-6098

(Send e-mail to mcspaddensb@ornl.gov)



peter.jpg (4039 bytes)Peter Blau received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Metallurgy and Materials Science from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He served on active duty between 1973 and 1976 at the Air Force Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, and earned a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, in 1979. From 1979 to 1987, he conducted tribology and microindentation research at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland. From 1986-87 he served as acting Scientific Officer for the Office of Naval Research Tribology Program. Presently he is Task Leader for Tribology research in the Metals and Ceramics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Blau is the author of two tribology books and has also published more than one hundred journal articles and book chapters. He is a Fellow of both ASM International and ASTM. He now serves as Chairman of ASTM Committee G-2 on Wear and Erosion, and is Formal Paper Editor for the 2003 International Conference on Wear of Materials.


Dr. Peter J. Blau
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6063
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6063

Phone: (865) 574-5377
Fax: (865) 574-6918
(Send e-mail to blaupj@ornl.gov)



tyler.jpg (2974 bytes)Tyler Jenkins is an Engineering Technologist in the ORNL Metals and Ceramics Division. He has approximately fifteen years hands-on experience in NC and standard machining, having specialized in ceramic machining for the past ten years. Mr. Jenkins is a member of the High Temperature Materials Laboratory's Machining and Inspection Research Group where he assists U.S. manufacturing participants in the HTML User Program with their ceramic machining research. His primary responsibilities include the programming and operation of several instrumented grinders and related data-collection equipment used in the experimental machining of ceramics and other advanced materials.


Tyler Jenkins
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6069
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6069

Phone: (865) 574-0194
Fax: (865) 574-6098
(Send e-mail to jenkinsvt@ornl.gov)

 



Jun Qu earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and Iowa State University, respectively.  He also holds a B.S. and M.S. in Precision Instrument Engineering from Tianjin University, P.R. China.  Qu joined in the Surface Processing and Mechanics group in the Metals and Ceramics Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2002. His main research interests include tribological issues associated with high wear resistant materials and coatings for heavy-duty diesel engine and brake systems. He is also working on nondestructive material characterization using Scanning Acoustic Microscopy.


Dr. Jun Qu
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6063
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6063

Phone: (865) 574-4560
Fax: (865) 574-6918
(Send e-mail to qujn@ornl.gov)



lawrence.jpg (3047 bytes)Lawrence O'Rourke has 25 years of machining, tool and die, and grinding experience. He joined the nearby Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant in 1981 in the carbide tool grinding area. He was supervisor of the specimen shop at Y12 before joining the Y-12 Development Division. Lawrence has been assigned to the High Temperature Materials Laboratory Machining and Inspection Research Group since 1992.


Lawrence J. O'Rourke
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6069
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6069

Phone: (865) 574-0194
Fax: (865) 574-6098
(Send e-mail to orourkelj@ornl.gov)



randy.jpg (3528 bytes)Randy Parten is an Engineering Technologist in the ORNL Metals and Ceramics Division. He has approximately twenty years of hands-on experience in dimensional metrology, having worked for 13 years in Dimensional Inspection at the nearby Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant prior to joining ORNL. Mr. Parten is a member of the High Temperature Materials Laboratory’s Machining and Inspection Research Group, where he is responsible for the calibration, programming, and operation of a precision coordinate measuring machine (CMM), surface texture measuring instruments, and several other precision dimensional measurement instruments.


Randy J. Parten
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6069
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6069

Phone: (865) 574-4884
Fax: (865) 574-6098
(Send e-mail to partenrj@ornl.gov)



Susan Thomsen has been a secretary providing support to the Surface Processing and Mechanics group since 2002. She provides secretarial support for the Machining and Inspection Research User Center.


Susan Thomsen
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6063
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6063

Phone: (865) 574-4551
Fax: (865) 574-6918
(Send e-mail to thomsensm1@ornl.gov)



J. Earl SheltonEarl Shelton is an Engineering Technologist in the ORNL Metals and Ceramics Division. He has approximately twenty years of hands-on experience in NC machining, having worked as an experimental machinist in the Development Division at the nearby Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant prior to joining ORNL. Mr. Shelton is a member of the High Temperature Materials Laboratory’s Machining and Inspection Research Group. He is responsible for the programming and operation of several instrumented grinders and related data-collection equipment used in the experimental machining of ceramics and other high-temperature materials.


J. Earl Shelton
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Box 2008
Building 4515, MS-6069
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6069

Phone: (865) 576-4915
Fax: (865) 574-6098
(Click to send e-mail to sheltonje@ornl.gov)



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Last modified on December 04, 2003 .

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