October 29, 2007 — Herbert A. Mook Jr., a senior researcher at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The AAAS Council honored Mook, a UT-Battelle Senior Corporate Fellow, for "pioneering experiments using neutron scattering in materials that test theories leading to understanding of novel physics and new directions of research."
"Herb Mook's recognition by the AAAS comes as society increasingly realizes the important role advanced materials play in future technologies in the life, chemical and physical sciences that will help us tackle energy-related problems," said ORNL Director Thom Mason. "Herb's achievements in neutron scattering and condensed matter sciences have been a key part of our prominent role in neutron sciences."
Mook's neutron science career at ORNL began in 1965. His experiments have employed neutron beams from the Oak Ridge Research Reactor, now decommissioned, and the more powerful High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), which was recently upgraded with new beam lines and a cold neutron source.
Mook, who received his master's degree and doctorate from Harvard University, was the SNS's first scientific director and also directed ORNL's Center for Neutron Scattering from 2000 to 2004.
A fellow of the American Physical Society and the Neutron Scattering Society of America, Mook has published more than 200 scientific papers, including coauthorship with the late Nobel laureate and neutron scattering pioneer Clifford Shull. These papers have been well received by the scientific community: 50 of his papers have been cited more than 50 times, with more than 8,000 citations overall. He holds three patents.
Mook's inventions have received two R&D 100 Awards -- the neutron transmission polarizer in 1989 and the ultrasonically pulsed neutron spectrometer in 1984.
Mook and his wife, Jane, reside in Knoxville. He has two sons and four grandchildren.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.