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This illustration demonstrates how atomic configurations with an equiatomic concentration of niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and vanadium (V) can become disordered. The AI model helps researchers identify potential atomic configurations that can be used as shielding for housing fusion applications in a nuclear reactor. Credit: Massimiliano Lupo Pasini/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A study led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory details how artificial intelligence researchers created an AI model to help identify new alloys used as shielding for housing fusion applications components in a nuclear reactor. The findings mark a major step towards improving nuclear fusion facilities.

Through a new technical collaboration program, companies will be able to propose research projects that utilize the labs and expertise in ORNL’s Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A new technical collaboration program at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory will help businesses develop and launch electric grid innovations. Sponsored by the Transformer Resilience and Advanced Components program in DOE’s Office of Electricity, the initiative will provide companies with access to national laboratory resources, enabling them to capture market opportunities. 

Daryl Yang standing on a bridge overlooking a pond covered in water lillies

Daryl Yang is coupling his science and engineering expertise to devise new ways to measure significant changes going on in the Arctic, a region that’s warming nearly four times faster than other parts of the planet. The remote sensing technologies and modeling tools he develops and leverages for the Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments in the Arctic project, or NGEE Arctic, help improve models of the ecosystem to better inform decision-making as the landscape changes.

ORNL scientists used molecular dynamics simulations, exascale computing, lab testing and analysis to accelerate the development of an energy-saving method to produce nanocellulosic fibers.

A team led by scientists at ORNL identified and demonstrated a method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%, using simulations on the lab’s supercomputers and follow-on analysis.

ORNL researchers Tom Beck, left, Sarp Oral and Rafael Ferreira da Silva have proposed a strategy for integrating classical supercomputers such as Frontier, the world’s first exascale computer, with the emerging field of quantum computing.

A study by more than a dozen scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory examines potential strategies to integrate quantum computing with the world’s most powerful supercomputing systems in the pursuit of science.

This photo is of four men standing in front of a wall of monitors that are showing a tree looking image.

To better predict long-term flooding risk, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a 3D modeling framework that captures the complex dynamics of water as it flows across the landscape. The framework seeks to provide valuable insights into which communities are most vulnerable as the climate changes, and was developed for a project that’s assessing climate risk and mitigation pathways for an urban area along the Southeast Texas coast.

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.

Caption: The Na-CO2 battery developed at ORNL, consisting of two electrodes in a saltwater solution, pulls atmospheric carbon dioxide into its electrochemical reaction, and releases only valuable biproducts. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at ORNL are developing battery technologies to fight climate change in two ways, by expanding the use of renewable energy and capturing airborne carbon dioxide. 

Jiafu Mao, left, and Yaoping Wang discuss their analysis of urban and rural vegetation resilience across the United States in the EVEREST visualization lab at ORNL. Credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at ORNL completed a study of how well vegetation survived extreme heat events in both urban and rural communities across the country in recent years. The analysis informs pathways for climate mitigation, including ways to reduce the effect of urban heat islands.

Alyssa Carrell is an ORNL ecologist studying how plant-microbe relationships can build resilience in natural ecosystems vulnerable to climate change. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Alyssa Carrell started her science career studying the tallest inhabitants in the forest, but today is focused on some of its smallest — the microbial organisms that play an outsized role in plant health.