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ORNL identity science researcher Nell Barber works on a facial recognition camera. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Though Nell Barber wasn’t sure what her future held after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she now uses her interest in human behavior to design systems that leverage machine learning algorithms to identify faces in a crowd.

Logan Sturm, Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at ORNL, creates a mashup between additive manufacturing and cybersecurity research. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

How an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow is increasing security for critical infrastructure components

Jim Szybist, Propulsion Science section head at ORNL, is applying his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

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.

David McCollum is bringing his interdisciplinary expertise in engineering, economics and policy to several initiatives at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the global effort to transform energy systems equitably while respecting planetary boundaries. Credit: Lindsay McCollum

David McCollum is using his interdisciplinary expertise, international networks and boundless enthusiasm to lead Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s contributions to the Net Zero World initiative.

ORNL researchers worked with partners at the Colorado School of Mines and Baylor University to develop a new process optimization and control method for a closed-circuit reverse osmosis desalination system. The work is intended to support fully automated, decentralized water treatment plants. Credit: Andrew Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists worked with the Colorado School of Mines and Baylor University to develop and test control methods for autonomous water treatment plants that use less energy and generate less waste.

Three ORNL scientists have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Three ORNL scientists have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals.

Watermarks, considered the most efficient mechanisms for tracking how complete streaming data processing is, allow new tasks to be processed immediately after prior tasks are completed. Image Credit: Nathan Armistead, ORNL

A team of collaborators from ORNL, Google Inc., Snowflake Inc. and Ververica GmbH has tested a computing concept that could help speed up real-time processing of data that stream on mobile and other electronic devices.

The D2U model categorizes user data by capturing behavior in all open programs throughout a user’s day. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have created a technology that more realistically emulates user activities to improve cyber testbeds and ultimately prevent cyberattacks.

ORNL researchers are examining ways to increase the amount of carbon sequestered in soils by crops such as switchgrass. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Nearly a billion acres of land in the United States is dedicated to agriculture, producing more than a trillion dollars of food products to feed the country and the world. Those same agricultural processes, however, also produced an estimated 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

David Sholl is director of the new ORNL Transformational Decarbonization Initiative, working to elevate the lab’s prominence in decarbonization science and technology. Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy.

David Sholl has come to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a wealth of scientific expertise and a personal mission: hasten the development and deployment of decarbonization solutions for the nation’s energy system.