Expertise
My interests center on magnetism, material property characterization, and magnet applications toward sustainable manufacturing, environmental, energy, and critical materials challenges. I have training in solid state chemistry and synthesis, crystallography, and neutron and synchrotron X-ray scattering experiments.
Beyond the Lab
When I'm not at a beamline, you'll find me playing board games, card games, video games, and tabletop RPGs — or badly playing musical instruments. I believe in science communication and making complex materials research accessible.
Synchrotron & Beamline Work
Read about experiments I've performed at synchrotrons and beamlines in the U.S. and internationally.
→ Read moreResearch
My work bridges electrochemistry, critical materials recovery, and sustainable manufacturing. Current projects include using electromagnetic heating with electrochemical cells to convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals, investigating new pathways to recycle germanium from optical fibers, and performing techno-economic analysis on electrifying cement production. I'm also developing AI models for waste valorization in critical material supply chains as part of the Genesis Mission.
Background
I'm trained in solid state chemistry, crystallography, and neutron and synchrotron X-ray scattering. My earlier research focused on the magnetism and crystal chemistry of intermetallic compounds — work that continues to inform how I approach structure–property relationships in the materials I study today.
Bio for Conferences & Talks
Zachary Tener is a Staff Scientist at Savannah River National Laboratory with over a decade of experience in materials synthesis and characterization. At SRNL, he plays a central role in building the laboratory's critical materials portfolio — bridging fundamental chemistry with real-world sustainability challenges. His research spans electrochemical CO₂ conversion, germanium recovery from end-of-life optical fibers, techno-economic pathways toward electrified cement production, and AI-enabled waste valorization through the Genesis Mission. His earlier work mapping magnetic structure in intermetallic compounds at the atomic scale established the foundation in structure–property relationships that now drives his approach to some of the most pressing questions in critical and energy materials.
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Characterized a series of intermetallic solid solutions using neutron diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and electronic band structure calculations to reveal how cobalt substitution tunes magnetic ordering.Inorg. Chem. 2022, 61, 4257–4269
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Combined polarized and non-polarized neutron powder diffraction with DFT calculations to map the magnetization distribution in a soft ferromagnet with TC = 316 K.J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 2021, 529, 167827
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Showed that pressure-driven electron density redistribution defies conventional oxidation state assignments, revealed through X-ray absorption spectroscopy and band structure calculations.Chem. Eur. J. 2019, 25, 6311–6319
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Re-investigated the Mn–Al phase diagram between 45–70 at.% Al using single crystal X-ray diffraction and Sn-flux growth to establish atomic site distributions.Z. Kristallogr. 2017, 232, 601–610
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Demonstrated that applying a 2 T magnetic field throughout the HDDR process alters the resulting powder properties — relevant to next-generation permanent magnet manufacturing.Metals 2024, 14(3), 294
Full publication list available on Google Scholar and ORCID.