Research Physicist
Materials Science and Technology Division
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Washington, D.C.

Biography:

Dr. Todd H. Brintlinger is a Research Physicist in the Materials Science and Technology Division at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. He received his B.S. in Physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he worked on sonoluminescence, and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Maryland, College Park, where his research involved the growth, imaging, and electrical transport of single-walled carbon nanotube devices. Remaining in College Park, he moved to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering where his postdoctoral appointment included the development of *in situ *transmission electron microscopy for nanoscale thermometry, the study of geometrically frustrated artificial spin ice systems, and characterization of magnetoelectronic devices. His tenure at Naval Research Laboratory has continued his research with* in situ* and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy for phase change materials, plasmonics, electrochemical systems, and catalysts. Dr. Brintlinger also has led experiments on the predominant physics and materials mechanisms affecting the performance of an electromagnetic launch system (railgun), for which he was recognized with an NRL Award of Merit for Group Achievement. He has published 30 papers in refereed journals with an average of 30 citations per paper, served as an officer in the Edison Chapter of Sigma Xi at NRL, and has been involved in FIAP, incl. acting as an interim Member-At-Large on the Executive Committee, on a volunteer basis for the last 7+ years.

Statement:

The Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics is an especially important unit within APS for physicists that do basic research with a strong focus on subsequent commercialization. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the setting for such research, and I therefore have first-hand experience with balancing the sometimes competing interests between basic science and applications. Acting as Member-At-Large, I am committed to enhancing the role of FIAP as both an advocate for the applied physicist and as a conduit for information. This conduit is two-way: to best serve its emerging young scientists, APS needs to maintain awareness about the realities and practices of industrial and applied physics, and APS can help transition the latest developments from basic physics research into the industrial and applied physics communities. Federal laboratories occupy a special place for applied physics, and have unique challenges and capabilities that naturally overlap with the mission of FIAP. I hope to cement and expand upon FIAP’s role at the March Meeting, the single most visible interaction APS members have with the Society, and to provide a link to the DoD applied physics community.