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Research teams at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory received computing resource awards to train and test AI foundation models for science. A total of six ORNL projects were awarded allocations from the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, or NAIRR, pilot and the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment, or INCITE, program to train their AI models.

Mariam Kiran, a quantum research scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was recently honored as a finalist at the British Council’s Study U.K. Alumni Awards 2025, which celebrate the achievements of U.K. alumni worldwide.

Daniel Jacobson, distinguished research scientist in the Biosciences Division at ORNL, has been elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, or AIMBE, for his achievements in computational biology. 

Troy Carter, director of the Fusion Energy Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, leads efforts to make fusion energy a reality, overseeing key projects like MPEX and fostering public-private collaborations in fusion research. 

Dave Weston studies how microorganisms influence plant health and stress tolerance, using the Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory to accelerate research on plant-microbe interactions and develop resilient crops for advanced fuels, chemicals and 

Scientists at ORNL and the University of Cincinnati achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the butanol they produce during fermentation of plant biomass. The discovery could pave the way for more efficient production of domestic fuels, chemicals and materials.

US ITER has completed delivery of all components for the support structure of the central solenoid, the 60-foot-tall superconducting magnet that is the “heart” of the ITER fusion machine. 

To help reduce the likelihood of losing future cultivated crops to drought and other seasonal hardships, researchers from ORNL, Budapest and Hungary are using neutrons, light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to study the 'Never Never' plant, known for its ability to endure periods of little to no rain. 

ORNL took part in the “1,000 Scientists AI Jam Session,” a first-of-its-kind virtual event that brought together leading scientists from nine national laboratories to test generative artificial intelligence models for their functionality in scientific research.

During his first visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Energy Secretary Chris Wright compared the urgency of the Lab’s World War II beginnings to today’s global race to lead in artificial intelligence, calling for a “Manhattan Project 2.”