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Frankie White, male in a black suite with a white shirt, is standing crossing his arms.

Early career scientist Frankie White's was part of two major isotope projects at the same time he was preparing to be a father. As co-lead on a team that achieved the first synthesis and characterization of a radium compound using single crystal X-ray diffraction and part of a team that characterized the properties of promethium, White reflects on the life-changing timeline at work, and at home. 

Man in blue shirt and grey pants holds laptop and poses next to a green plant in a lab.

John Lagergren, a staff scientist in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Plant Systems Biology group, is using his expertise in applied math and machine learning to develop neural networks to quickly analyze the vast amounts of data on plant traits amassed at ORNL’s Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory.

Man in a beard holding tweezers, showing a bead if space glass closer to the screen.

Researchers set a new benchmark for future experiments making materials in space rather than for space. They discovered that many kinds of glass have similar atomic structure and arrangements and can successfully be made in space. Scientists from nine institutions in government, academia and industry participated in this 5-year study. 

From left, Clarice Phelps, Jimmie Selph and Rich Franco are ORNL personnel who teach classes in the Chemical Radiation Technology Pathway program at Pellissippi State Community College.

Students from the first class of ORNL and Pellissippi State Community College's joint Chemical Radiation Technology Pathway toured isotope facilities at ORNL.

ORNL researcher Louise Evans is working to ensure safeguards approaches and verification technologies are integrated early in the design process of advanced reactor technologies. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers tackling national security challenges at ORNL are upholding an 80-year legacy of leadership in all things nuclear. Today, they’re developing the next generation of technologies that will help reduce global nuclear risk and enable safe, secure, peaceful use of nuclear materials, worldwide.

A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers used Frontier to explore training strategies for one of the largest artificial intelligence models to date. Credit: Getty Images

A team led by researchers at ORNL explored training strategies for one of the largest artificial intelligence models to date with help from the world’s fastest supercomputer. The findings could help guide training for a new generation of AI models for scientific research.
 

From left, J.D. Rice, Trevor Michelson and Chris Seck look at a monitor in Seck’s lab. The three are wearing safety glasses to protect against the laser beams used by the scanning vibrometer, which is helping Seck quantify vibration of an appliance in his lab. Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL scientists are working on a project to engineer and develop a cryogenic ion trap apparatus to simulate quantum spin liquids, a key research area in materials science and neutron scattering studies.

ORNL’s Erin Webb is co-leading a new Circular Bioeconomy Systems Convergent Research Initiative focused on advancing production and use of renewable carbon from Tennessee to meet societal needs. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL’s Erin Webb is co-leading a new Circular Bioeconomy Systems Convergent Research Initiative focused on advancing production and use of renewable carbon from Tennessee to meet societal needs. 

Shift Thermal co-founders Mitchell Ishamel, left, and Levon Atoyan stand in front of one of the company’s ice thermal energy storage modules, which will be submitted to independent measurement and validation testing in May. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Shift Thermal, a member of Innovation Crossroads’ first cohort of fellows, is commercializing advanced ice thermal energy storage for HVAC, shifting the cooling process to be more sustainable, cost-effective and resilient. Shift Thermal wants to enable a lower-cost, more-efficient thermal energy storage method to provide long-duration resilient cooling when the electric grid is down. 

Intern Noah Miller, left, and his mentor, Joe McVeigh, stand with their poster at the American Glovebox Society conference in 2023.

College intern Noah Miller is on his 3rd consecutive internship at ORNL, currently working on developing an automated pellet inspection system for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Plutonium-238 Supply Program. Along with his success at ORNL, Miller is also focusing on becoming a mentor for kids, giving back to the place where he discovered his passion and developed his skills.