SRNL: Klein and Villa-Aleman Named SRNL Laboratory Fellows

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Director Dr. Vahid Majidi and
the Fellow Committee have bestowed the honor of laboratory fellow to Dr. James (Jim) Klein and Dr. Eliel
Villa-Aleman.
Dr. Klein and Dr. Villa-Aleman have been given the distinction of laboratory fellow for their outstanding
scientific achievements in their field, recognition by their peers, and exceptional accomplishments for
SRNL.
“We proudly recognize these two distinguished individuals for their professional achievements and
contributions to SRNL and the nation,” said Dr. Majidi. “This is our second year conducting our fellow’s
program and we believe we identified two of the best to recognize with this honor.”
SRNL established the Laboratory Fellow Program in February 2020. To receive the accolade, employees must first be nominated and then recommended by the Fellow Committee and Review Panel
to the laboratory director, who ultimately
bestows the title.
“The laboratory fellow
achievement is the highest recognition SRNL
gives to its top researchers and engineers,” said
Paul Cloessner, SRNL
fellow and SRNL Fellow
Committee chair. “This
recognition is a true
reflection of the talent
SRNL holds.”
Dr. Jim Klein has served
the nation through his
work at SRNL for 34
years. He began his
career at SRNL developing process technologies for NNSA tritium missions. He is recognized across
the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as an expert in
tritium process technology and has been instrumental in leading research and development activities
and life-cycle support for tritium system and facility design, start-up, operations, and decommissioning.
He led the implementation of the tritium In-Bed Accountability (Calorimetry) technique for large metal
hydride beds, which is now the internationally accepted measurement method for this technology.
Dr. Eliel Villa-Aleman leads the Laser Spectroscopy Laboratory for the characterization of materials and
processes. During his tenure at SRNL, now spanning more than 30 years, he conducted or led research
in spectroscopy, remote sensing, thermal signatures, high-speed imaging, and particle collection systems based on electrostatic precipitation technologies. These techniques and tools have been used to
enhance spectroscopic characterization of actinides, particle collections of high explosives tests, and
vicarious calibration of the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) satellite.