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Oak Ridge National Laboratory materials scientist Zhili Feng, left, looks on as senior technician Doug Kyle operates a welding robot inside a robotic welding cell. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense teamed up to create a series of weld filler materials that could dramatically improve high-strength steel repair in vehicles, bridges and pipelines.

Technology to retrofit nonpowered dams such as the Lake Sequoyah Dam in North Carolina could be tested before deploying to ensure performance and reliability. Credit: Scott DeNeale/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have identified a key need for future hydropower innovations – full-scale testing – to better inform developers and operators before making major investments.

ORNL researchers led by Michael Garvin, left, and David Kainer discovered genetic mutations called structural variants and linked them to autism spectrum disorders, demonstrating an approach that could be used to develop better diagnostics and drug therapies. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL researchers discovered genetic mutations that underlie autism using a new approach that could lead to better diagnostics and drug therapies.

Michelle Kidder received the lab’s Director’s Award for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology for her decades-long work mentoring students, teachers and early-career staff. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Laboratory Director Thomas Zacharia presented five Director’s Awards during Saturday night's annual Awards Night event hosted by UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL for the Department of Energy.

This image from Sept. 30, 2022, shows how the Federal Emergency Management Agency used ORNL's USA Structures data along with new satellite images to identify structures that were destroyed in Lee County, Florida, during Hurricane Ian. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Over the past seven years, researchers in ORNL’s Geospatial Science and Human Security Division have mapped and characterized all structures within the United States and its territories to aid FEMA in its response to disasters. This dataset provides a consistent, nationwide accounting of the buildings where people reside and work.

Conduit hydropower presents opportunities in every state. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Millions of miles of pipelines and conduits across the United States make up an intricate network of waterways used for municipal, agricultural and industrial purposes.

A simulation of the planet from the DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model, one of the large-scale models incorporated in the Earth System Grid Federation led by DOE’s Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. Credit: LLNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Earth System Grid Federation, a multi-agency initiative that gathers and distributes data for top-tier projections of the Earth’s climate, is preparing a series of upgrades.

ORNL is studying how climate change may impact water availability for hydropower facilities such as the Shasta Dam and Lake in California. Credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

ORNL has provided hydropower operators with new data to better prepare for extreme weather events and shifts in seasonal energy demands caused by climate change.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s software suite AutoBEM is being used in the architecture, city planning, real estate and home efficiency industries. Users take advantage of the suite’s energy modeling of almost all U.S. buildings. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Two years after ORNL provided a model of nearly every building in America, commercial partners are using the tool for tasks ranging from designing energy-efficient buildings and cities to linking energy efficiency to real estate value and risk.

Researchers used quantum Monte Carlo calculations to accurately render the structure and electronic properties of germanium selenide, a semiconducting nanomaterial. Credit: Paul Kent/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A multi-lab research team led by ORNL's Paul Kent is developing a computer application called QMCPACK to enable precise and reliable predictions of the fundamental properties of materials critical in energy research.