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Through a new technical collaboration program, companies will be able to propose research projects that utilize the labs and expertise in ORNL’s Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A new technical collaboration program at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory will help businesses develop and launch electric grid innovations. Sponsored by the Transformer Resilience and Advanced Components program in DOE’s Office of Electricity, the initiative will provide companies with access to national laboratory resources, enabling them to capture market opportunities. 

Daryl Yang standing on a bridge overlooking a pond covered in water lillies

Daryl Yang is coupling his science and engineering expertise to devise new ways to measure significant changes going on in the Arctic, a region that’s warming nearly four times faster than other parts of the planet. The remote sensing technologies and modeling tools he develops and leverages for the Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments in the Arctic project, or NGEE Arctic, help improve models of the ecosystem to better inform decision-making as the landscape changes.

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After retiring from Y-12, Scott Abston joined the Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate to support isotope production and work with his former manager. He now leads a team maintaining critical equipment for medical and space applications. Abston finds fulfillment in mentoring his team and is pleased with his decision to continue working.

forest under study in Panama

Scientists using high-resolution aerial scans and computational modeling concluded that wildfires, storms and selective logging have become key drivers behind rainforest carbon emissions, outpacing clear-cutting practices.

ORNL’s convergent manufacturing platform, on display at IMTS 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, integrates multiple systems into one.

A new convergent manufacturing platform, developed in only five months at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is debuting at the International Manufacturing Technology Show, or IMTS, in Chicago, Sept. 9–12, 2024.

Team of four people seated in front of four people standing in the network operations center at EPB at Chattanooga.

For the first time, ORNL will run equipment developed at its research facilities on a commercially available quantum network at EPB Quantum Network powered by Qubitekk to help validate the technology's commercial viability.

ORNL scientists used molecular dynamics simulations, exascale computing, lab testing and analysis to accelerate the development of an energy-saving method to produce nanocellulosic fibers.

A team led by scientists at ORNL identified and demonstrated a method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%, using simulations on the lab’s supercomputers and follow-on analysis.

Jay Tiley inspects a hydroelectric runner from TVA’s Cherokee Dam

ORNL is working with industry partners to develop a technique that combines 3D printing and conventional machining to produce large metal parts for clean energy applications. The project, known as Rapid Research on Universal Near Net Shape Fabrication Strategies for Expedited Runner Systems, or Rapid RUNNERS, recently received $15 million in funding from DOE. 

Bryan Maldonado

As a mechanical engineer in building envelope materials research at ORNL, Bryan Maldonado sees opportunities to apply his scientific expertise virtually everywhere he goes, from coast to coast. As an expert in understanding how complex systems operate, he’s using machine learning methods to control the process and ultimately optimize performance. 

Illustration of oscillating UCI3 bonds

Researchers for the first time documented the specific chemistry dynamics and structure of high-temperature liquid uranium trichloride salt, a potential nuclear fuel source for next-generation reactors.