Skip to main content
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.

Hood Whitson, chief executive officer of Element3, and Cynthia Jenks, associate laboratory director for the Physical Sciences Directorate, shake hands during the Element3 licensing event at ORNL on May 3, 2024. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A collection of seven technologies for lithium recovery developed by scientists from ORNL has been licensed to Element3, a Texas-based company focused on extracting lithium from wastewater produced by oil and gas production. 

The 2023 Billion-Ton Report identifies feedstocks that could be available to produce biofuels to decarbonize the transportation and industrial sectors while potentially tripling the U.S. bioeconomy. The map indicates a mature market scenario, including emerging resources. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

The United States could triple its current bioeconomy by producing more than 1 billion tons per year of plant-based biomass for renewable fuels, while meeting projected demands for food, feed, fiber, conventional forest products and exports, according to the DOE’s latest Billion-Ton Report led by ORNL.

ORNL researchers developed a long-sequenced AI transformer capable of processing millions of pathology reports to provide experts researching cancer diagnoses and management with more accurate information on cancer reporting.

In partnership with the National Cancer Institute, researchers from ORNL and Louisiana State University developed a long-sequenced AI transformer capable of processing millions of pathology reports to provide experts researching cancer diagnoses and management with exponentially more accurate information on cancer reporting.

Anuj Kapadia

Anuj J. Kapadia, who heads the Advanced Computing Methods for Health Sciences Section at ORNL, has been elected as president of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. 

ORNL's Kyle Gluesenkamp received the FLC Outstanding Researcher Award.

Four ORNL teams and one researcher were recognized for excellence in technology transfer and technology transfer innovation. 
 

ORNL Associate Laboratory Director for Computing and Computational Sciences. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Gina Tourassi, associate laboratory director for computing and computational sciences at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s largest organization for technical professionals.

ORNL scientist Zhijia Du, white coat, former ORNL scientist Jianlin Li, blue coat, and Ateios CEO Rajan Kumar inspect battery components during a pilot production run. Credit: Kurt Weiss/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy

Ateios Systems licensed an ORNL technology for solvent-free battery component production using electron curing. Through Innovation Crossroads, Ateios continues to work with ORNL to enable readiness for production-quality battery components. 

In a proposed carbon-capture method, magnesium oxide crystals on the ground bind to carbon dioxide molecules from the surrounding air, triggering the formation of magnesium carbonate. The magnesium carbonate is then heated to convert it back to magnesium oxide and release the carbon dioxide for placement underground, or sequestration. Credit: Adam Malin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Magnesium oxide is a promising material for capturing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and injecting it deep underground to limit the effects of climate change. ORNL scientists are exploring ways to overcome an obstacle to making the technology economical.

A collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Caterpillar Inc. will investigate using methanol as an alternative fuel source for marine vessels. Members of the research team kicked off the project with the installation of a 6-cylinder engine at the Department of Energy’s National Transportation Research Center at ORNL.

ORNL and Caterpillar Inc. have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, to investigate using methanol as an alternative fuel source for four-stroke internal combustion marine engines.