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Media Contacts
![Quantum Computational Science image](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/quantum-computational-science.jpg?h=e91a75a9&itok=UmQ0_mO0)
Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, research at ORNL in 2021 continued apace, with developments across the lab’s broad science and technology missions. Among our most popular news stories in the past year:
![ORNL’s Melissa Allen-Dumas examines the ways global and regional climate models can shed light on local climate effects and inform equitable solutions. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-12/2021-P00300_0.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=FYXNa_GE)
The world is full of “huge, gnarly problems,” as ORNL research scientist and musician Melissa Allen-Dumas puts it — no matter what line of work you’re in. That was certainly the case when she would wrestle with a tough piece of music.
![Burak Ozpineci is a globally recognized leader in power electronics research. He was named an ORNL Corporate Fellow in fall 2021. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-12/2021-P05927.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=INL2tsOt)
Burak Ozpineci started out at ORNL working on a novel project: introducing silicon carbide into power electronics for more efficient electric vehicles. Twenty years later, the car he drives contains those same components.
![Radiochemist Shelley VanCleve works to purify an isotope using a glove box in ORNL’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center. VanCleve was involved in the final purification of berkelium that led to the discovery of the new element 117, tennessine, in 2010. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-12/2019-P06960%20%281%29.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=G0bLNtrs)
It’s elemental — scientists agree that the periodic table is incomplete. And when it comes to unveiling parts of the periodic table yet undiscovered, ORNL is doing some heavy lifting.
![ORNL’s Larry York studies how plant root traits contribute to crop productivity. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-12/2021-P09529.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=xKuzx0EU)
Biologist Larry York’s fascination with plant roots has spurred his research across four continents and inspired him to create accessible tools that enable others to explore the underground world.
![U.S. Secretary of Energy Granholm tours ORNL’s world-class science facilities](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/2021-P09409.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=C8b0_-Vk)
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited ORNL on Nov. 22 for a two-hour tour, meeting top scientists and engineers as they highlighted projects and world-leading capabilities that address some of the country’s most complex research and technical challenges.
![By studying the activity patterns of populations around the world, scientists at ORNL are identifying the communities that are most likely to face extreme climate events and associated national security challenges. Credit: Erik Schmidt/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/image_1aspect_0_1.jpg?h=a08abdbb&itok=5AadirQ-)
Using novel data sets and computing systems, researchers at ORNL are simulating how climate change affects the safety and security of the country.
![A material’s spins, depicted as red spheres, are probed by scattered neutrons. Applying an entanglement witness, such as the QFI calculation pictured, causes the neutrons to form a kind of quantum gauge. This gauge allows the researchers to distinguish between classical and quantum spin fluctuations. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/Quantum%20Illustration%20V3_0.png?h=2e111cc1&itok=Bth5wkD4)
A team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated the viability of a “quantum entanglement witness” capable of proving the presence of entanglement between magnetic particles, or spins, in a quantum material.
![Carrie Eckert](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/2021-P08048.jpg?h=fdb72c6d&itok=pWcXR26-)
Carrie Eckert applies her skills as a synthetic biologist at ORNL to turn microorganisms into tiny factories that produce a variety of valuable fuels, chemicals and materials for the growing bioeconomy.
![Energy Secretary Granholm visits ORNL in virtual tour of world-class science facilities](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-10/GranholmVisitOTv2_1632958724553.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=EsrSAfld)
On Sept. 28, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm joined leadership and top scientists and engineers online at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a two-hour whirlwind tour.