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Media Contacts
![ORNL seismic researcher Chengping Chai placed seismic sensors on the ground at various distances from an ORNL nuclear reactor to learn whether they could detect its operating state. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P03398.jpg?h=3e43625b&itok=TXK8tthh)
Like most scientists, Chengping Chai is not content with the surface of things: He wants to probe beyond to learn what’s really going on. But in his case, he is literally building a map of the world beneath, using seismic and acoustic data that reveal when and where the earth moves.
![Neutron scattering experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source revealed how the dynamics between copper and oxygen make a special type of enzyme excel at breaking down biomass. Insights could lead to lowering the cost of biofuel production. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/23-G02576_Meilleur_0.png?h=b6717701&itok=jPIOwV6b)
Nonfood, plant-based biofuels have potential as a green alternative to fossil fuels, but the enzymes required for production are too inefficient and costly to produce. However, new research is shining a light on enzymes from fungi that could make biofuels economically viable.
![Innovation Crossroads Cohort Six includes: Bianca Bailey, Agriwater; Rajan Kumar, Ateois Systems; Alex Stiles, Vitriform3D; Kim Tutin, Captis Aire; Anca Timofte, Holocene Climate; and Pete Willette, facil.ai. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-07/innovationcrossroads_0.jpg?h=e91a75a9&itok=hktN6L5d)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Innovation Crossroads program welcomes six new science and technology innovators from across the United States to the sixth cohort.
![In a study, ORNL researchers concluded that the most direct path to plastic upcycling is through designing polymers specifically for reuse, which would allow the material to be converted into high-value products. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/plasticUpcycleArt_0.jpg?h=7fe813aa&itok=wXdMZ6YJ)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers determined that designing polymers specifically with upcycling in mind could reduce future plastic waste considerably and facilitate a circular economy where the material is used repeatedly.
![ORNL researchers developed a novel process for manufacturing extreme heat resistant carbon-carbon composites at a faster rate and produced fins or strakes made of the materials for testing on a U.S. Navy rocket launching with NASA. Credit: ORNL, Sandia/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-09/NASA-rocket2_0.jpg?h=479b3cf8&itok=uTWZx_SB)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a novel process to manufacture extreme heat resistant carbon-carbon composites. The performance of these materials will be tested in a U.S. Navy rocket that NASA will launch this fall.
![A 3D printed thermal protection shield, produced by ORNL researchers for NASA, is part of a cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station. The shield was printed at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-07/Sanded5.jpg?h=dce12e0c&itok=_8wzeG94)
A research team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have 3D printed a thermal protection shield, or TPS, for a capsule that will launch with the Cygnus cargo spacecraft as part of the supply mission to the International Space Station.
![Sergei Kalinin](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-07/2019-P00126_0.png?h=5969a3b5&itok=66cucDCt)
Five researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been named ORNL Corporate Fellows in recognition of significant career accomplishments and continued leadership in their scientific fields.
![An organic solvent and water separate and form nanoclusters on the hydrophobic and hydrophilic sections of plant material, driving the efficient deconstruction of biomass. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-07/THF_high_res.gif?h=5a472534&itok=5peedFnF)
Scientists at ORNL used neutron scattering and supercomputing to better understand how an organic solvent and water work together to break down plant biomass, creating a pathway to significantly improve the production of renewable
![Scientists created a novel polymer that is as effective as natural proteins in transporting protons through a membrane. Credit: ORNL/Jill Hemman](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-03/19-G01195_nature_feature_0.png?h=e4fbc3eb&itok=K8czXmTr)
Biological membranes, such as the “walls” of most types of living cells, primarily consist of a double layer of lipids, or “lipid bilayer,” that forms the structure, and a variety of embedded and attached proteins with highly specialized functions, including proteins that rapidly and selectively transport ions and molecules in and out of the cell.
![Illustration of the optimized zeolite catalyst, or NbAlS-1, which enables a highly efficient chemical reaction to create butene, a renewable source of energy, without expending high amounts of energy for the conversion. Credit: Jill Hemman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-12/19-G01458_Cheng_PR.png?h=14829302&itok=U1YwTrlo)
Illustration of the optimized zeolite catalyst, or NbAlS-1, which enables a highly efficient chemical reaction to create butene, a renewable source of energy, without expending high amounts of energy for the conversion. Credit: Jill Hemman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy