Although blockchain is best known for securing digital currency payments, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using it to track a different kind of exchange: It’s the first time blockchain has ever been used to validate communication among devices on the electric grid.
Laboratory Director Thomas Zacharia presented five Director’s Awards during Saturday night's annual Awards Night event hosted by UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL for the Department of Energy.
Over the past seven years, researchers in ORNL’s Geospatial Science and Human Security Division have mapped and characterized all structures within the United States and its territories to aid FEMA in its response to disasters. This dataset provides a consistent, nationwide accounting of the buildings where people reside and work.
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.
In human security research, Thomaz Carvalhaes says, there are typically two perspectives: technocentric and human centric. Rather than pick just one for his work, Carvalhaes uses data from both perspectives to understand how technology impacts the lives of people.
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.
When Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico in 2017, winds snapped trees and destroyed homes, while heavy rains transformed streets into rivers. But after the storm passed, the human toll continued to grow as residents struggled without electricity for months. Five years later, power outages remain long and frequent.
As climate change leads to larger and more frequent wildfires, researchers at ORNL are using sensors, drones and machine learning to both prevent fires and reduce their damage to the electric grid.
Cameras see the world differently than humans. Resolution, equipment, lighting, distance and atmospheric conditions can impact how a person interprets objects on a photo.
When the COVID-19 pandemic stunned the world in 2020, researchers at ORNL wondered how they could extend their support and help