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Wide shot of the expo center, ground filled with people walking and a green, white and blue 3D circle sign above everyone in the center

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory had a major presence at this year’s International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC24). 

3D map of Washington, D.C. that is a weather model of neighborhood during heat waves. The map is red and green indicating which buildings are giving off more heat
Scientists at ORNL have developed a first-ever urban heat wave simulation that takes into account the compounding effects from building infrastructure. The method provides a more accurate picture of the impacts from excessive heat on at-risk
Four scientists are standing in a field next to a data-gathering tool robot

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently demonstrated an autonomous robotic field monitoring, sampling and data-gathering system that could accelerate understanding of interactions among plants, soil and the environment.

A graphical representation about a gene in a poplar tree. There is a close up of a tree to the right and the far left-top corner. There is a strand of DNA going down the middle of the image with an ant and two small circles showing the organisms inside the DNA

A team of scientists with two Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers — the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — identified a gene in a poplar tree that enhances photosynthesis and can boost tree height by about 30% in the field and by as much as 200% in the greenhouse. 

The 2024 Gordon Bell Prize goes to researchers led by the University of Melbourne for using the Frontier supercomputer to conduct a quantum molecular dynamics simulation 1,000 times greater in size and speed than any previous simulation of its kind. Credit: SC24

This year’s Association for Computing Machinery’s Gordon Bell Prize in supercomputing goes to researchers led by the University of Melbourne who used the Frontier supercomputer to conduct a quantum molecular dynamics simulation 1,000 times greater in size and speed than any previous simulation of its kind.

A small sample from the Frontier simulations reveals the evolution of the expanding universe in a region containing a massive cluster of galaxies from billions of years ago to present day (left).

In early November, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory used the fastest supercomputer on the planet to run the largest astrophysical simulation of the universe ever conducted. The achievement was made using the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

microscopic ctherm biomass

Using a best-of-nature approach developed by researchers working with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Dartmouth University, startup company Terragia Biofuel is targeting commercial biofuels production that relies on renewable plant waste and consumes less energy. The technology can help meet the demand for billions of gallons of clean liquid fuels needed to reduce emissions from airplanes, ships and long-haul trucks.

Black computing cabinets in a row on a white floor in the data center that houses the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Two-and-a-half years after breaking the exascale barrier, the Frontier supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory continues to set new standards for its computing speed and performance.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory entrance sign

The Department of Energy’s Quantum Computing User Program, or QCUP, is releasing a Request for Information to gather input from all relevant parties on the current and upcoming availability of quantum computing resources, conventions for measuring, tracking, and forecasting quantum computing performance, and methods for engaging with the diversity of stakeholders in the quantum computing community. Responses received to the RFI will inform QCUP on both immediate and near-term availability of hardware, software tools and user engagement opportunities in the field of quantum computing.

Graphic representation of ai model that identifies proteins

Researchers used the world’s fastest supercomputer, Frontier, to train an AI model that designs proteins, with applications in fields like vaccines, cancer treatments, and environmental bioremediation. The study earned a finalist nomination for the Gordon Bell Prize, recognizing innovation in high-performance computing for science.