Janelle Wharry named 2025 Brimacombe Medalist
The NERS alumna was recognized for sustained excellence and achievement in materials science and engineering.
NERS alumna Janelle Wharry (B.S./M.S. ’05, Ph.D. ’12) has been named a 2025 Brimacombe Medalist by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). Now a professor at the University of Illinois, Wharry was recognized “for her contributions to understanding structure-property evolution of nuclear and irradiated materials, and her visionary leadership in the nuclear materials research community.”
The Brimacombe Medal is a mid-career award that honors individuals with sustained excellence and achievement in materials science and engineering, as well as continued service to the profession. This year, nine Brimacombe Medals were awarded. Recipients receive a certificate and lapel pin and may become eligible for further distinctions such as the Acta Materialia Gold Medal and TMS Fellow.
“TMS has been instrumental in my professional development and has enabled me to achieve far beyond what I thought my capabilities were,” Wharry said. “Being amongst the eminent scientists who have been named Brimacombe Medalists is a tremendous honor. Thank you to the students and post-docs who have entrusted me with several years along their professional journeys – this recognition is a testament to their scholarship. I am grateful to my nominators, collaborators, and confidantes who have shown me what effective mentorship and advocacy look like. And most importantly, thank you to my husband for his endless support of my professional journey.”
Wharry’s research advances the understanding of how radiation affects the structure and properties of materials, particularly those used in nuclear energy systems. Her work has been widely published, including the recent article “Decoupling irradiation effects on deformation-induced martensitic transformations in commercial Ni-Cr-Fe alloys,” published in Materials Science and Engineering: A in January 2025.
Wharry’s recognition reflects her ongoing impact on both nuclear engineering and the broader materials science community. The Department of Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences is proud to count her among its alumni.