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Planting native grasses such as the bioenergy crop switchgrass can restore habitat for birds like this Eastern kingbird. Credit: Chris Lituma/West Virginia University

An analysis by Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows that using less-profitable farmland to grow bioenergy crops such as switchgrass could fuel not only clean energy, but also gains in biodiversity.

In a study, ORNL researchers concluded that the most direct path to plastic upcycling is through designing polymers specifically for reuse, which would allow the material to be converted into high-value products. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers determined that designing polymers specifically with upcycling in mind could reduce future plastic waste considerably and facilitate a circular economy where the material is used repeatedly.

Ten scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among the world’s most highly cited researchers. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Ten scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among the world’s most highly cited researchers, according to a bibliometric analysis conducted by the scientific publication analytics firm Clarivate.

Watermarks, considered the most efficient mechanisms for tracking how complete streaming data processing is, allow new tasks to be processed immediately after prior tasks are completed. Image Credit: Nathan Armistead, ORNL

A team of collaborators from ORNL, Google Inc., Snowflake Inc. and Ververica GmbH has tested a computing concept that could help speed up real-time processing of data that stream on mobile and other electronic devices.

ORNL researchers used neutrons at the lab’s Spallation Neutron Source to analyze modified high-entropy metal alloys with enhanced strength and ductility, or the ability to stretch, under high-stress without failing. Credit: Rui Feng/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method of adding nanostructures to high-entropy metal alloys, or HEAs, that enhance both strength and ductility, which is the ability to deform or stretch
The D2U model categorizes user data by capturing behavior in all open programs throughout a user’s day. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have created a technology that more realistically emulates user activities to improve cyber testbeds and ultimately prevent cyberattacks.

The ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor, shown in green, envelops the roots of a transgenic switchgrass plant. Switchgrass is not known to interact with this type of fungi naturally; the added PtLecRLK1 gene tells the plant to engage the fungus. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

An ORNL team has successfully introduced a poplar gene into switchgrass, an important biofuel source, that allows switchgrass to interact with a beneficial fungus, ultimately boosting the grass’ growth and viability in changing environments.

From left to right are Beth Armstrong, Govindarajan Muralidharan and Andrew Payzant.

ASM International recently elected three researchers from ORNL as 2021 fellows. Selected were Beth Armstrong and Govindarajan Muralidharan, both from ORNL’s Material Sciences and Technology Division, and Andrew Payzant from the Neutron Scattering Division.

From top to bottom respectively, alloys were made without nanoprecipitates or with coarse or fine nanoprecipitates to assess effects of their sizes and spacings on mechanical behavior. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at ORNL and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have found a way to simultaneously increase the strength and ductility of an alloy by introducing tiny precipitates into its matrix and tuning their size and spacing.

ORNL and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists studied the formation of amorphous ice like the exotic ice found in interstellar space and on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory successfully created amorphous ice, similar to ice in interstellar space and on icy worlds in our solar system. They documented that its disordered atomic behavior is unlike any ice on Earth.