Momentum - February 2020 - 22

CAREER
PATH

DOSSIER: MARTIN WISSINK OF OAK
RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY
TWO OF THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL neutron
sources are among the equipment Dr. Martin Wissink has
at his disposal as a researcher at the U.S. Department
of Energy's National Transportation Research Center at
Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He started there as a
postdoc in 2015 and has been an R&D Associate since
2018. His group is focused on research and development
of advanced combustion engines, lubricants, fuels, and
emissions controls. This spans from basic chemistry and
zero-dimensional modeling to component-level and
single-cylinder engine dynamometer research to full
vehicle applications.
The main focus of Wissink's current work is developing
neutron-based diagnostic tools for studying advanced
combustion systems and using these tools to help solve
real-world challenges. "This is conceptually similar to
x-ray diagnostics like imaging and diffraction, which are
routinely used for studying the behavior of materials,
devices, and systems," he told MOMENTUM. "Neutrons
have some unique properties, including high penetration
through common engineering metals such as aluminum
and iron, while at the same time being sensitive to light
elements like hydrogen and lithium. This makes neutrons
useful for studying hydrogen fuel cells, lithium-ion
batteries, or in my area of interest, combustion systems
that use hydrocarbon-based fuels.
Wissink completed his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015. He'd
earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical
engineering at the University of California-Berkeley.
Read on to learn more about Wissink.

Dr. Martin Wissink (middle) receives the 2015 Myers Award for Outstanding Student
Paper along with co-author Prof. Rolf Reitz (right). They are shown being presented
with the award by former SAE President Cuneyt Oge.
Why did you decide to become an engineer?
Even as a child I always had a fascination with taking things apart to
understand how they worked. Figuring out why things sometimes didn't
work when I put them back together was often more interesting than
taking them apart in the first place. I seem to remember always having
some project going on during middle and high school, like building
computers for friends and family members, or designing a trebuchet
for a school catapult contest. While I enjoyed subjects like math,
chemistry, and physics, they were always a means to an end-I got the
most satisfaction from working with my hands and seeing the physical
realization of my ideas.
To what character traits do you attribute your success?
Unbounded (and sometimes unhealthy) obsession with figuring out
a problem. I have often found myself digging into a challenge not
because it was necessarily required as part of an assignment or a
project, but because I needed to know the answer for myself. The way
that this translates into success is to have the good fortune for other
people to be interested in the result or being able to parlay the result
into something useful.
Of what accomplishment are you most proud?
On a professional level, I take pride in being a part of the group that I
work in. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by so many brilliant people,
and being able to contribute and bring value in that context is very
rewarding. On a personal level, my greatest accomplishments were
snagging my lovely wife, Cindy, and bringing our beautiful daughter,
Eleanor, into the world.

Wissink adjusts a fuel injector as part of an experiment at the
CG-1D neutron imaging beamline at ORNL's High Flux Isotope
Reactor.
22 February 2020

What is the most interesting project that you are working?
I am leading a project to make a purpose-built internal combustion
engine to be operated in the VULCAN neutron diffractometer at ORNL's

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Momentum - February 2020

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