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Domenick Leto poses near assessment equipment for nuclear materials. Credit: Lena Shoemaker/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Drawing from his experience during the pandemic, Domenick Leto recognizes the need for the United States to have inexpensive, reliable capabilities to combat any type of disruption to national security, including nationwide medical emergencies. Leto and colleagues received a patent for a simple, inexpensive way to sterilize masks, plastic, and medical equipment from the COVID-19 virus.

ORNL retiree Duane Starr and his wife, Nancy, pose with the critical frequencies demo unit Duane designed, built and donated to the laboratory to support nuclear workshops.  Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, Dept. of Energy

For years, Duane Starr led workshops at ORNL to help others from across the U.S. government understand uranium processing technologies. After his retirement, Starr donated a 5-foot-tall working model, built in his garage, that demonstrates vibration harmonics, consistent with operation of a super critical gas centrifuge rotor, a valuable resource to ongoing ORNL-led workshops. 

From left, Cable-Dunlap, Chi, Smith and Thornton have been named ORNL Corporate Fellows. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Four 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.

Sangkeun “Matt” Lee received the Best Poster Award at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 24th International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration.

Lee's paper at the August conference in Bellevue, Washington, combined weather and power outage data for three states – Texas, Michigan and Hawaii –  and used a machine learning model to predict how extreme weather such as thunderstorms, floods and tornadoes would affect local power grids and to estimate the risk for outages. The paper relied on data from the National Weather Service and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environment for Analysis of Geo-Located Energy Information, or EAGLE-I, database.

ORNL researchers are establishing a digital thread of data, algorithms and workflows to produce a continuously updated model of earth systems.

Digital twins are exactly what they sound like: virtual models of physical reality that continuously update to reflect changes in the real world.

 

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory contributed to several chapters of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, providing expertise in complex ecosystem processes, energy systems, human dynamics, computational science and Earth-scale modeling. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at ORNL used their knowledge of complex ecosystem processes, energy systems, human dynamics, computational science and Earth-scale modeling to inform the nation’s latest National Climate Assessment, which draws attention to vulnerabilities and resilience opportunities in every region of the country.

An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, can be triggered by a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere or by an electromagnetic generator in a vehicle or aircraft. Here’s the chain of reactions it could cause to harm electrical equipment on the ground. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at ORNL have been leading a project to understand how a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, could threaten power plants.

Sarah Walters portrait

Walters is working with a team of geographers, linguists, economists, data scientists and software engineers to apply cultural knowledge and patterns to open-source data in an effort to document and report patterns of human movement through previously unstudied spaces.

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.

Steven Campbell’s technical expertise supports integration of power electronics innovations from ORNL labs to the electrical grid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Steven Campbell can often be found deep among tall cases of power electronics, hunkered in his oversized blue lab coat, with 1500 volts of electricity flowing above his head. When interrupted in his laboratory at ORNL, Campbell will usually smile and duck his head.