Lianhong Gu, distinguished staff scientist in the Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named a fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA).
The ESA recognized Gu for his research seeking to understand and predict fundamental biological and ecological processes with the laws of nature. He has made pioneering contributions to ecosystem ecology and biosphere–atmosphere interactions, on carbon-flux dynamics and innovations in photosynthesis-measurement technology, as well as leadership in mentoring, outreach and policy.
The society named eight fellows to its 2026 cohort. Founded in 1915, the ESA is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists, committed to advancing understanding of life on Earth. Fellowship is bestowed on members who have been active in the society for at least 15 years and have demonstrated excellence in research and discovery, communication and outreach, education and application of ecology to management and policy.
Gu’s research is focused on plant photosynthesis ranging from the molecular scale in single plants to the ecosystem scale. He studies and measures important processes such as eddy covariance, the measurement of the exchange of energy, water vapor and other gases between vegetation and soil on Earth’s surface and the atmosphere.
He led the development of a technology platform that measures ecosystem-scale sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), emitted by plants during photosynthesis as they convert sunlight into chemical energy. The platform, ORNL Fluorescence Auto-Measurement Equipment (FAME), measures this key indicator of plant health and productivity across forests and croplands. FAME was first deployed at a DOE-supported Ameriflux experimental station in the Missouri Ozarks, and was later licensed to instrumentation firm Campbell Scientific.
“I am pleased to celebrate this well-deserved recognition of Lianhong’s work by the ESA,” said David Graham, interim associate laboratory director for Biological and Environmental Systems Science at ORNL. “His research exemplifies the interdisciplinary science that brings together plant physiologists, ecologists and modelers to understand how processes at the leaf scale influence landscape productivity and resilience for better energy and economic security.”
“I am honored to be named an ESA fellow,” Gu said. “The ESA cultivates a community that values collaboration among disciplines and integration of theories and applications. I appreciate the strength and breadth of that community, which is integral to my research on how plant physiology influences broader landscape function.”
Gu currently leads a DOE Genesis Mission project, Generative Pre-trained Transformer for Genomics Photosynthesis. The project is developing an AI model trained on vast datasets across plant genes and the environment to identify which genes are explicitly linked to improvements in plant photosynthesis. The model will generate predictions that can greatly accelerate the work of plant scientists working toward more productive and resilient food and energy systems. The Genesis Mission is a national initiative bringing together the 17 DOE national labs, leading universities and industry to build the world's most powerful scientific platform to accelerate discovery science, strengthen national security and drive energy innovation.
Gu has also been a mentor to numerous postdoctoral and post-master’s researchers and interns at ORNL. He was granted the Stanley Auerbach Award for excellence in environmental sciences at ORNL in 2004. Gu earned his doctorate in environmental sciences at the University of Virginia as a DuPont scholar and was named outstanding graduate student at the university.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. —Stephanie Seay
