Nathan Johnson was awarded a fellowship by Los Alamos National Laboratory to study and model rapidly solidifying alloys. The fellowship was awarded for Nathan’s research with the Alliance for the Development of Additive Processing Technologies (ADAPT^SM). Nathan’s work focuses on characterizing the formation of microscopic grains that form as metals solidify. These in situ investigations use techniques such as high-energy X-ray and neutron diffraction to reveal mechanisms and characteristics of grain formation, ultimately determining the mechanical properties of the metal. Measurements made using diffraction will serve as the foundation of statistical models of metal manufacturing processes. Nathan’s work has impact in technologies such as additive manufacturing where complex parts are built layer by layer from small deposits of rapidly solidified alloys.