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ORNL’s Tomás Rush explores the secret lives of fungi and plants for insights into the interactions that determine plant health. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Tomás Rush began studying the mysteries of fungi in fifth grade and spent his college intern days tromping through forests, swamps and agricultural lands searching for signs of fungal plant pathogens causing disease on host plants.

A simulation of the planet from the DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model, one of the large-scale models incorporated in the Earth System Grid Federation led by DOE’s Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. Credit: LLNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Earth System Grid Federation, a multi-agency initiative that gathers and distributes data for top-tier projections of the Earth’s climate, is preparing a series of upgrades.

From left, Michael Starke, Steven Campbell and Madhu Chinthavali of ORNL discuss the configuration of the power electronics hub demonstrated with hardware in the low-voltage lab at GRID-C. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at ORNL recently demonstrated a new technology to better control how power flows to and from commercial buildings equipped with solar, wind or other renewable energy generation.

ORNL will use its land surface modeling tools to determine Baltimore’s climate risk and analyze green infrastructure improvements that can help mitigate impacts on underserved communities as part of a DOE Urban Integrated Field Laboratory project. Source: Google Earth, accessed Sept. 12, 2022

ORNL researchers are deploying their broad expertise in climate data and modeling to create science-based mitigation strategies for cities stressed by climate change as part of two U.S. Department of Energy Urban Integrated Field Laboratory projects.

ORNL is studying how climate change may impact water availability for hydropower facilities such as the Shasta Dam and Lake in California. Credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

ORNL has provided hydropower operators with new data to better prepare for extreme weather events and shifts in seasonal energy demands caused by climate change.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s software suite AutoBEM is being used in the architecture, city planning, real estate and home efficiency industries. Users take advantage of the suite’s energy modeling of almost all U.S. buildings. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Two years after ORNL provided a model of nearly every building in America, commercial partners are using the tool for tasks ranging from designing energy-efficient buildings and cities to linking energy efficiency to real estate value and risk.

ORNL fusion technology scientist Tim Bigelow, right, stands near the control console in ORNL’s  fusion control room with Matt Houde of Quaise Energy. Their partnership aims to tackle technical challenges with the Millimeter Wave Drilling System that Quaise has developed. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Researchers in the geothermal energy industry are joining forces with fusion experts at ORNL to repurpose gyrotron technology, a tool used in fusion. Gyrotrons produce high-powered microwaves to heat up fusion plasmas.

Researchers used quantum Monte Carlo calculations to accurately render the structure and electronic properties of germanium selenide, a semiconducting nanomaterial. Credit: Paul Kent/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A multi-lab research team led by ORNL's Paul Kent is developing a computer application called QMCPACK to enable precise and reliable predictions of the fundamental properties of materials critical in energy research.

ORNL’s Valentino Cooper will direct a new DOE Energy Frontier Research Center focused on polymer electrolytes for solid-state batteries. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL has been selected to lead an Energy Frontier Research Center, or EFRC, focused on polymer electrolytes for next-generation energy storage devices such as fuel cells and solid-state electric vehicle batteries.

ORNL physicist Libby Johnson demonstrated a new control panel at ORNL’s Bulk Shielding Facility in 1957. Among the first females to operate a nuclear reactor, Johnson blazed trails for women. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory physicist Elizabeth “Libby” Johnson (1921-1996), one of the world’s first nuclear reactor operators, standardized the field of criticality safety with peers from ORNL and Los Alamos National Laboratory.