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Media Contacts
![small power module](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P08143_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=Si2ShyhX)
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are supporting the grid by improving its smallest building blocks: power modules that act as digital switches.
![TIP graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/TIPbg_1200.png?h=da33fe38&itok=y7ggwHLV)
Scientist-inventors from ORNL will present seven new technologies during the Technology Innovation Showcase on Friday, July 14, from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences on ORNL’s campus.
![ORNL seismic researcher Chengping Chai placed seismic sensors on the ground at various distances from an ORNL nuclear reactor to learn whether they could detect its operating state. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P03398.jpg?h=3e43625b&itok=TXK8tthh)
Like most scientists, Chengping Chai is not content with the surface of things: He wants to probe beyond to learn what’s really going on. But in his case, he is literally building a map of the world beneath, using seismic and acoustic data that reveal when and where the earth moves.
![ORNL researchers encoded grid hardware operating data into a color band hidden inside photographs, video or artwork, as shown in this photo. The visual can then be transmitted to a utility’s control center for decoding. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/Color%20bar.ORNL_.jpg?h=a49d782d&itok=eX3P5GZU)
Inspired by one of the mysteries of human perception, an ORNL researcher invented a new way to hide sensitive electric grid information from cyberattack: within a constantly changing color palette.
![Steven Campbell and Radha Krishna-Moorthy discuss part of the power electronics that make up the Smart Universal Power Electronics Regulator technology developed at ORNL. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-04/Campbell%2C%20Krishna-Moorthy%20SUPER_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=YzH5ZcSG)
Researchers at ORNL are helping modernize power management and enhance reliability in an increasingly complex electric grid.
![A team led by Raymond Borges Hink has developed a method using blockchain to protect communications between electronic devices in the electric grid, preventing cyberattacks and cascading blackouts. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-11/Blockchain%20Raymond%20portrait.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=g5Hnz0h2)
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.
![From left, Michael Starke, Steven Campbell and Madhu Chinthavali of ORNL discuss the configuration of the power electronics hub demonstrated with hardware in the low-voltage lab at GRID-C. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/Power%20electronics%20hub_0_0.jpg?h=eb3f9682&itok=hkr9h1KF)
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.
![Solar panels funded by the Honnold Foundation are installed in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Credit: Fabio Andrade](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/grid-thumb2.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=p9gjQHsR)
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.
![Technology Innovation Program](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-08/TIPbg_0.jpg?h=a50b7bdc&itok=_3vRlbkP)
Five technologies invented by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been selected for targeted investment through ORNL’s Technology Innovation Program.
![ORNL researchers are perfecting ways to use drones to check remote parts of the electric grid for dangerous electrical arcing that could start wildfires. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-08/drone%20pic%202_0.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=3gcxVXPE)
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.