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Martin Wissink of ORNL’s Buildings and Transportation Science Division applies neutrons and other diagnostic tools at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in pursuit of cleaner, sustainable and more flexible transportation technologies. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy

For a researcher who started out in mechanical engineering with a focus on engine combustion, Martin Wissink has learned a lot about neutrons on the job

Associate Laboratory Director Kathy McCarthy heads the ORNL directorate that manages proto-MPEX, a linear plasma device that informs the development of the MPEX tool for study of fusion materials. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

From the helm of a one-of-a-kind organization that brings nuclear fusion and fission expertise together to pave the way to expanding carbon-free energy, Kathy McCarthy can trace the first step of her engineering career back to

In situ monitoring to evaluate nickel-based superalloys as they are printing gave Mike Kirka, an ORNL materials scientist, the ability to see potential weaknesses that could lead to part failure. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

Growing up in the heart of the American automobile industry near Detroit, Oak Ridge National Laboratory materials scientist Mike Kirka was no stranger to manufacturing.

Oscar Martinez loads a special form capsule into the leak tester for a helium leak test in the packaging facility of the National Transportation Research Center. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

As program manager for the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Package Testing Program, Oscar Martinez enjoys finding and fixing technical issues.

ORNL bioscience researcher Jerry Tuskan had an early interest in plant genetics.

It’s been 10 years since the Department of Energy first established a BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and researcher Gerald “Jerry” Tuskan has used that time and the lab’s and center’s resources and tools to make good on his college dreams of usi...

ORNL’s Udaya Kalluri brings lab resources together for studies of plants.
Udaya Kalluri brings considerable energy to her plant research at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory—a trait colleagues describe as “contagious enthusiasm.” Kalluri’s zeal was evident even in her postdoc days at ORNL, when she won lab-directed research fun...
Omar Abdelaziz in ORNL’s Maximum Building Energy Efficiency Research Laboratory (MAXLAB). Photo credit: Jason Richards

As a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Omar Abdelaziz took a class in an unfamiliar topic: sustainable energy. It was a choice that would change the path of his life and career. Ten years later, Abdelaziz’ passion for healthy ecosystems and his hands-on work around ...

Madhu Chinthavali

While trying to decide on an area of technical study as an undergraduate, Madhu Chinthavali visited labs at his college in India. One particular lab where an electrical engineer had devised various motor controls caught his eye. "It wasn't the motor that drew my attention," Ma...

ORNL researcher Peter Thornton "in the field" for the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment - Arctic.
The summertime temperatures in the North Slope and Seward Peninsula of Alaska rarely reach higher than 50 degrees F and the perpetually dark winters fall below minus 20 F. It is a brutal environment for any researcher studying the Arctic ecosystem, much less a supercomputer modele...
ORNL’s Sarah Cousineau is responsible for overseeing and coordinating beam physics research efforts for the Spallation Neutron Source accelerator.
Accelerator physicist Sarah Cousineau has dedicated her career to unraveling the world’s mysteries through physics. A large part of solving those mysteries, she says, means getting the next generation of physicists ready for the same challenge. Cousineau is a group leader in th...