News

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are closer to unlocking the secrets to better soil carbon sequestration by studying the tiny, sand-like silicon deposits called phytoliths in plants.

Burak Ozpineci, a Corporate Fellow and section head for Vehicle and Mobility Systems Research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is one of six international recipients of the eighth Nagamori Award.

ORNL researchers have developed an upcycling approach that adds value to discarded plastics for reuse in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing.

To optimize biomaterials for reliable, cost-effective paper production, building construction, and biofuel development, researchers often study the structure of plant cells using techniques such as freezing plant samples or placing them in a vacuum.

Jennifer Morrell-Falvey’s interest in visualizing the science behind natural processes was what drew her to ORNL in what she expected to be a short stint some 18 years ago. 

What’s getting Jim Szybist fired up these days? It’s the opportunity to apply his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector — from airplanes to locomotives to ships and massive farm combines.

It’s been referenced in Popular Science and Newsweek, cited in the Economic Report of the President, and used by agencies to create countless federal regulations.

Researchers at ORNL are teaching microscopes to drive discoveries with an intuitive algorithm, developed at the lab’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, that could guide breakthroughs in new materials for energy technologies, sensing and computing.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers determined that for every 5 miles per hour that drivers travel over a 50-mph speed limit, fuel economy decreases by 7% and equates to paying an extra 28 cents per gallon at current.

A study led by researchers at ORNL could help make materials design as customizable as point-and-click.