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Adian Cook standing in front of GROVER autonomous bus

Arriving at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in late 2017 as a vehicle system engineer, Adian Cook could not foresee then that he would soon be the example of what happens to a research career when one is in the right place at the right time. But perfect timing is exactly what transpired for Cook as me...

Omar Demerdash

Attracted to biology, math, and physics as a young student, Omar Demerdash decided that when the time came to narrow his academic interests he wouldn’t pick and choose: he’d pursue them all. Today he’s using his expertise in computational biophysics to model and analyze how molecules interact with p...

Jason Richards

After more than a decade spent photographing scientific achievements at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Jason Richards has stepped out from behind the camera and into the lab, in a move that continues a career

Philip Bingham

Philip Bingham has two pieces of advice for researchers new to Oak Ridge National Laboratory: (1) develop a skill set that can be applied to multiple research areas, and (2) get out and meet folks across the lab. “The favorite part of my work is that I’ve done a lot of very diffe...

ORNL Image

Mircea Podar has travelled around the world and to the bottom of the ocean in pursuit of scientific discoveries, but it is the uncharted territory he encounters when working with new microbes that inspires his research at ORNL.

Ryan Kerekes is leader of the RF, Communications, and Cyber-Physical Security Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Photos by Genevieve Martin, ORNL.

As leader of the RF, Communications, and Cyber-Physical Security Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Kerekes heads an accelerated lab-directed research program to build virtual models of critical infrastructure systems like the power grid that can be used to develop ways to detect and repel cyber-intrusion and to make the network resilient when disruption occurs.

Micael Starke

When Michael Starke leaves the lab each day, he continues his work, in a sense, at home. The power systems engineer is developing methods to precisely control building electrical loads—and in his off hours, he has automated his own home with upwards of 90 smart devices to manage everything from heat...

Esther Parish

Esther Parish’s holistic approach to life is apparent not only in her environmental research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, but in her careful cultivation of a future crop of young scientists. Her expertise as a geographer coupled with a keen interest in the natural world drives Parish’s resea...

Christina Forrester

Christina Forrester’s meticulous nature is a plus for her work leading technical testing and analysis of radiological and nuclear detection devices, whether that work takes her to the Desert Southwest or to her own lab outfitted with specialized 

Vincent Paquit

Leveraging his expertise in image processing, sensors, and machine learning, Vincent Paquit is devising a control system for additive manufacturing to produce 3D-printed parts that function as well as conventionally produced objects. Paquit’s research sits at the junction of manufacturing technol...