Kevin Field receives 2025 Henry Russel Award
U-M honored the NERS professor for his extraordinary early-career impact in research, education, and mentorship.
Kevin Field, NERS professor and faculty director of the Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Henry Russel Award—one of the University of Michigan’s highest distinctions for early-career faculty. The award was officially approved by the U-M Board of Regents at their June meeting and celebrates Field’s exceptional accomplishments in nuclear materials science, research innovation, student mentorship, and educational leadership. He is the first NERS faculty member to receive the award in its 100-year history.
Field’s career at NERS has been marked by major milestones and growing national influence. Earlier this year, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)—the U.S. government’s top honor for early-career researchers—and was also named to the inaugural American Nuclear Society (ANS) “40 Under 40” list and awarded the ANS Landis Young Member Engineering Achievement Award. In 2020, he received a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Award.
“Professor Field embodies this award’s highest academic leadership, innovation, and community impact values,” said NERS Chair Todd Allen, who co-nominated Field for the award along with Karen Thole, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering. “He exemplifies the essence of the University of Michigan’s celebrated motto, Leaders and Best, through an early career distinguished by dedication, brilliance, and transformation influence.”
Field’s research focuses on radiation-tolerant materials for fission and fusion energy systems. He has played a key role in advancing FeCrAl alloys for accident-tolerant nuclear fuel, a technology that could significantly increase the safety of power reactors worldwide. His research group at NERS, the Nuclear Oriented Materials & Examination (NOME) Laboratory, leads pioneering work in applying machine learning to automate materials characterization, enabling faster innovation and deployment of next-generation energy materials.
In the past year alone, Field received five major grants from DOE—including four from the ARPA-E program and one as part of a $20 million fusion center—making his group one of the largest and most active in the country for fusion materials research. He also holds two recent patents and has an H-index of 41.
In addition to his scientific leadership, Field has reimagined how nuclear engineering is taught at Michigan. He spearheaded the transformation of the department’s senior design course into a two-semester experience that incorporates technical rigor, policy context, environmental challenges, and communication training with his colleagues Carolyn Kuranz and Stephanie Sheffield. His work earned him the department’s 2023 Faculty of the Year award, voted on by students.
Field’s influence also extends far beyond the classroom. He mentors a group of graduate researchers who consistently win major fellowships and awards, and his group is widely praised for its collaborative, positive culture.
He also contributes to national and institutional strategy, including assisting with the DOE’s Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee and helping shape new research directions at U-M and national labs. At professional conferences, he has created programs to support early-career researchers and foster long-term community building in the field.
“This award is a reflection of the strength of Kevin’s vision for nuclear materials, and his deep investment in mentoring the next generation of engineers,” said Allen. “We’re proud to see his contributions recognized at the highest level.”