Cooper honored for engineering advances in nuclear technology

Michael Cooper, a scientist in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Materials Science and Technology division, received a 2026 American Nuclear Society Landis Young Member Engineering Achievement Award. 

The award recognizes outstanding engineering contributions by young professionals under 40 years of age who have effectively applied engineering knowledge to advance nuclear science and technology. 

What he does:

• Cooper holds a doctorate in nuclear materials from Imperial College London. His research at Los Alamos focuses on materials science to support the development of advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, microreactors, space reactors and light water reactors. 
• He leads research using computational techniques that advances the goals of several Department of Energy programs — including the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation program — NASA initiatives and industry partnerships.

Research impact and innovation:

• A recent focus of Cooper’s work involves the multiscale propagation and quantification of uncertainty in mechanistic models, accelerated through machine learning techniques — a cutting-edge approach that enhances the reliability and efficiency of nuclear materials modeling. This work is critical for advancing the safety and performance of next-generation nuclear systems.
• Cooper’s recognition underscores the Laboratory's continued leadership in nuclear materials research and development of advanced reactor technologies.

LA-UR-26-24242