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To understand the electronic structures of solids and predict their properties, ORNL’s Valentino Cooper uses density functional theory (DFT), which models how many electrons are in a region rather than where those electrons are. “DFT essentially presents one electron existing in a ‘sea foam’ and tells how dense that foam is,” he said. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Valentino Cooper: Building foundations for solid science

Valentino (“Tino”) Cooper of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory uses theory, modeling and computation to improve fundamental understanding of advanced materials for next-generation energy and information technologies.

Scanning probe microscopes use an atom-sharp tip—only a few nanometers thick—to image materials on a nanometer length scale. The probe tip, invisible to the eye, is attached to a cantilever (pictured) that moves across material surfaces like the tone arm on a record player. Credit: Genevieve Martin/Oak Ridge National Laboratory; U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Liam Collins: Mapping the unseen

Liam Collins was drawn to study physics to understand “hidden things” and honed his expertise in microscopy so that he could bring them to light.

Victor Fung is a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Victor Fung: Early focus on sciences, happy accidents lead Wigner Fellow to career in computational chemistry

Eugene P. Wigner Fellow Victor Fung’s story is proof that a series of positive experiences around science and happy accidents can lead to a rewarding research career. He joined ORNL in 2019.

Friederike Bock, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow

Friederike Bock: Versatile Wigner Fellow shares her love of physics, her creative and athletic pursuits

Friederike Bock, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow, wants everyone to know scientists aren’t just robots—they want to help others understand their research, and they have wide-ranging interests.

Jason Nattress, an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow, is developing new nuclear material inspection and identification techniques to improve scanning times for ocean-going cargo containers.

Jason Nattress: Weinberg Fellow discovered nuclear engineering in the U.S. Navy

Jason Nattress, an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, found his calling on a nuclear submarine.

Tyler Gerczak, a materials scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is focused on post-irradiation examination and separate effects testing of current fuels for light water reactors and advanced fuel types that could be used in future nuclear systems. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Tyler Gerczak: ‘Moonlighting’ for nuclear fuels

Ask Tyler Gerczak to find a negative in working at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and his only complaint is the summer weather. It is not as forgiving as the summers in Pulaski, Wisconsin, his hometown.

ORNL scientist Nina Balke uses scanning probe microscopy to explore materials’ nanoscale properties and push boundaries in nanomaterials for energy applications. Credit: Genevieve Martin/Oak Ridge National Laboratory; U.S. Dept. of Energy

Nina Balke: Fine-tuned science

When Nina Balke came to the United States on a Feodor Lynen Fellowship for German scholars, her original plan was to complete a year abroad and return home to native opportunities in materials sciences. 

Raphaël Hermann of Oak Ridge National Laboratory studies magnetic materials and batteries using Mössbauer spectroscopy.

Raphaël Hermann: Conducting quantum materials research that resonates

Raphaël Hermann of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducts experiments to better understand materials for energy and information applications.

Organic chemist Santa Jansone-Popova designs new chemical architectures to support chemical separations that lay the groundwork for clean water and energy advances.

Santa Jansone-Popova: Chemistry by design

An organic chemist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Santa Jansone-Popova focuses on the fundamental challenges of chemical separations that translate to world-changing solutions for clean water and sustainable energy.

Bruce Moyer’s 40-year career as a chemist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has advanced the nation’s nuclear, environmental, and clean energy solutions across decades with basic-to-applied research in chemical separations.

Bruce Moyer: Chemical separations across energy eras

Bruce Moyer’s career as a trailblazing chemist began with a Gilbert chemistry set, the perfect Christmas gift for an inquisitive kid growing up in 1960s Pennsylvania. Moyer squirreled away the test tubes and racks of chemicals in his bedroom to conduct unsupervised experiments on solubility, corrosion, and other subjects included in Gilbert’s captivating manual.