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ORNL’s David McCollum, pictured at the entrance to COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh Egypt, was one of more than 35,000 attendees at the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Credit: David McCollum

David McCollum, a senior scientist at the ORNL and lead for the lab’s contributions to the Net Zero World Initiative, was one of more than 35,000 attendees in Egypt at the November 2022 Sharm El-Sheikh United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, Conference of the Parties, also known as COP27.

When an electron beam drills holes in heated graphene, single-atom vacancies, shown in purple, diffuse until they join with other vacancies to form stationary structures and chains, shown in blue. Credit: Ondrej Dyck/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers serendipitously discovered when they automated the beam of an electron microscope to precisely drill holes in the atomically thin lattice of graphene, the drilled holes closed up.

Researchers at ORNL designed a recyclable carbon fiber material to promote low-carbon manufacturing. Credit: Chad Malone/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists designed a recyclable polymer for carbon-fiber composites to enable circular manufacturing of parts that boost energy efficiency in automotive, wind power and aerospace applications.

Philipe Ambrozio Dias. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Having lived on three continents spanning the world’s four hemispheres, Philipe Ambrozio Dias understands the difficulties of moving to a new place.

Peter Thornton

ORNL appointed Peter Thornton as director of its Climate Change Science Institute, or CCSI, effective November 1, 2022.

Matthew Craig’s research at ORNL is focused on how carbon cycles in and out of soils, a process that can have tremendous impact on the Earth’s climate. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Matthew Craig grew up eagerly exploring the forest patches and knee-high waterfalls just beyond his backyard in central Illinois’ corn belt. Today, that natural curiosity and the expertise he’s cultivated in biogeochemistry and ecology are focused on how carbon cycles in and out of soils, a process that can have tremendous impact on the Earth’s climate.

ORNL’s Adam Guss and colleagues used synthetic biology to develop a custom microbe capable of converting deconstructed mixed plastic waste into valuable new materials. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists working on a solution for plastic waste have developed a two-step chemical and biological process to break down and upcycle mixed plastics into valuable bioproducts.

From left to right, Cortney Piper, executive director of the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council; Susan Hubbard, ORNL deputy for science and technology; Dan Miller, innovation Crossroads program lead; and Mike Paulus, ORNL director of technology transfer, attend the Innovation Crossroads Showcase at the Knoxville Chamber on Sept. 22. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A crowd of investors and supporters turned out for last week’s Innovation Crossroads Showcase at the Knoxville Chamber as part of Innov865 Week. Sponsored by ORNL and the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council, the event celebrated deep-tech entrepreneurs and the Oak Ridge Corridor as a growing energy innovation hub for the nation.

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.

The ORNL and Cummins CRADA led to the development of the R&D 100 Award-winning SpaciMS diagnostic tool that enabled researchers to gain a better understanding of reactor and catalytic chemistry. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

When Bill Partridge started working with industry partner Cummins in 1997, he was a postdoctoral researcher specializing in applied optical diagnostics and new to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.