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Man in bright yellow safety vest and hard hat is looking through a small machine that is pointed at a house being constructed.

Building innovations from ORNL will be on display in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall June 7 to June 9, 2024, during the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Innovation Housing Showcase. For the first time, ORNL’s real-time building evaluator was demonstrated outside of a laboratory setting and deployed for building construction. 

Jiafu Mao, left, and Yaoping Wang discuss their analysis of urban and rural vegetation resilience across the United States in the EVEREST visualization lab at ORNL. Credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at ORNL completed a study of how well vegetation survived extreme heat events in both urban and rural communities across the country in recent years. The analysis informs pathways for climate mitigation, including ways to reduce the effect of urban heat islands.

David Pointer

ORNL has named W. David Pointer, director of the Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division in ORNL’s Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate. As director, Pointer will lead a world-class team of ORNL research professionals focused on addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by current and future nuclear energy systems. 

Three ORNL researchers receive Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers has honored three Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers with the 2024 SME Susan Smyth Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award. 

DOE national laboratory scientists led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed the first tree dataset of its kind, bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes. Credit: Andy Sproles, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

A first-ever dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released by a team of DOE scientists led by ORNL. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems function, their vulnerability to a changing climate and ultimately how plants might be engineered for better performance as sources of bioenergy and natural carbon storage.

The 2023 Billion-Ton Report identifies feedstocks that could be available to produce biofuels to decarbonize the transportation and industrial sectors while potentially tripling the U.S. bioeconomy. The map indicates a mature market scenario, including emerging resources. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

The United States could triple its current bioeconomy by producing more than 1 billion tons per year of plant-based biomass for renewable fuels, while meeting projected demands for food, feed, fiber, conventional forest products and exports, according to the DOE’s latest Billion-Ton Report led by ORNL.

Jeremy Busby

Jeremy Busby has been named associate laboratory director for the Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, effective Jan. 1.

The Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program, or OSELP, has selected Jens Dilling and Christian Petrie as fellows for its 2023 cohort. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program has selected Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jens Dilling and Christian Petrie as fellows for its 2023 cohort.

This image from Sept. 30, 2022, shows how the Federal Emergency Management Agency used ORNL's USA Structures data along with new satellite images to identify structures that were destroyed in Lee County, Florida, during Hurricane Ian. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. 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.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory today to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Stable Isotope Research and Development Center. The facility is slated to receive $75 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory today to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center. The facility is slated to receive $75 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.