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The sun sets behind the ORNL Visitor Center in this aerial photo from April 2023. Credit: Kase Clapp/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL projects receive $8M from DOE Technology Commercialization Fund in FY23

In fiscal year 2023 — Oct. 1–Sept. 30, 2023 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory was awarded more than $8 million in technology maturation funding through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund, or TCF.

ORNL’s organocatalyst deconstructs mixed plastics at different temperatures, which facilitates recovering their individual monomers separately, in reusable form. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL scientists close the cycle on recycling mixed plastics

Little of the mixed consumer plastics thrown away or placed in recycle bins actually ends up being recycled. Nearly 90% is buried in landfills or incinerated at commercial facilities that generate greenhouse gases and airborne toxins. Neither outcome is ideal for the environment.

AIRES 4 attendees hailing from seven national laboratories and from academia met to discuss robust engineering for digital twins. Credit: Pradeep Ramuhalli/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

AI professionals discern digital twins at AIRES 4 workshop

ORNL hosted its fourth Artificial Intelligence for Robust Engineering and Science, or AIRES, workshop from April 18-20. Over 100 attendees from government, academia and industry convened to identify research challenges and investment areas, carving the future of the discipline.

The DuAlumin-3D research team developed a lightweight, aluminum alloy for additive manufacturing. Credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL researcher, team received honors for advanced alloy development with industry

Dean Pierce of ORNL and a research team led by ORNL’s Alex Plotkowski were honored by DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office for development of novel high-performance alloys that can withstand extreme environments.

Tomonori Saito, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Inventor of the Year, was honored at Battelle’s Celebration of Solvers. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Inventor Saito honored at Battelle Celebration of Solvers

Tomonori Saito, a distinguished innovator in the field of polymer science and senior R&D staff member at ORNL, was honored on May 11 in Columbus, Ohio, at Battelle’s Celebration of Solvers.

Jeff Foster, Distinguished Staff Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is looking for ways to control polymer sequencing for a variety of uses. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Research fellow Jeff Foster investigates ways to create designer molecules

Chemist Jeff Foster is looking for ways to control sequencing in polymers that could result in designer molecules to benefit a variety of industries, including medicine and energy.

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.

Using fusion technology, scientists probe the depths of the earth

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.

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed an adsorbent material to rapidly remove toxic chromium and arsenic simultaneously from water resources. Credit: Adam Malin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Adsorbent material filters toxic chromium, arsenic from water supplies

Researchers at ORNL are tackling a global water challenge with a unique material designed to target not one, but two toxic, heavy metal pollutants for simultaneous removal.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers used an invertible neural network, a type of artificial intelligence that mimics the human brain, to select the most suitable materials for desired properties, such as flexibility or heat resistance, with high chemical accuracy. The study could lead to more customizable materials design for industry.

ORNL neural network study harnesses made-to-order design to pair properties to materials

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

ORNL used novel additive manufacturing techniques to 3D print channel fasteners for Framatome’s boiling water reactor fuel assembly. Four components, like the one shown here, were installed at the TVA Browns Ferry nuclear plant. Credit: Framatome

Nuclear reactor components 3D printed by ORNL now installed at TVA Browns Ferry nuclear plant

Four first-of-a-kind 3D-printed fuel assembly brackets, produced at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have been installed and are now under routine operating