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Portraits of Kowalski and Salonvaara side by side

Stephen Kowalski and Mikael Salonvaara received the Distinguished Service Award, which salutes members who have served the society with distinction in chapter, regional and society activities.

Kashif Nawaz standing in front of a two story brick building that houses active research

Kashif Nawaz, distinguished researcher and section head for Building Technologies Research at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or ASME.

A portrait of John Sanseverino.

John joined the MPEX project in 2019 and has served as project manager for several organizations within ORNL.

A portrait of Larry Baylor

The award was given in “recognition of his lifelong leadership in fusion technology for plasma fueling systems in magnetically confined fusion systems.”

Howard Wilson and Gary Staebler

Two fusion energy leaders have joined ORNL in the Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate, or FFESD.

INFUSE logo

ORNL is leading three research collaborations with fusion industry partners through the Innovation Network for FUSion Energy, or INFUSE, program that will focus on resolving technical challenges and developing innovative solutions to make practical fusion energy a reality.  

Karen White

Karen White, who works in ORNL’s Neutron Science Directorate, has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

ORNL researchers found that a polyelectrolyte additive can improve the stability and performance of a salt hydrate PCM, enhancing the potential for use in heat pumps. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL researchers demonstrated that an additive made from polymers and electrolytes improves the thermal performance and stability of salt hydrate phase change materials, or PCMs, a finding that could advance their integration into carbon-reducing heat pumps.

The sun sets behind the ORNL Visitor Center in this aerial photo from April 2023. Credit: Kase Clapp/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

In fiscal year 2023 — Oct. 1–Sept. 30, 2023 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory was awarded more than $8 million in technology maturation funding through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund, or TCF.

: This schematic of tokamak core-pedestal-boundary regions show what will be simulated by an ORNL project applying machine learning to plasma physics modeling. Credit: Giacomin et al., J. Comput. Phys., 463, (2022) 111294, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2022.11294

ORNL will lead three new DOE-funded projects designed to bring fusion energy to the grid on a rapid timescale.