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Representatives from The University of Toledo and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee are teaming up to conduct collaborative automotive materials research.” Credit: University of Toledo

ORNL and The University of Toledo have entered into a memorandum of understanding for collaborative research.

Buildings—Reaching the boiling point

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated that metal foam enhances the evaporation process in thermal conversion systems and enables the development of compact HVAC&R units.

Tech transfer—Showcasing innovation

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will present eight innovative technologies currently available for commercialization during a public event at ORNL on October 17.

Fusion—Heating the core

In a recent study, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory performed experiments in a prototype fusion reactor materials testing facility to develop a method that uses microwaves to raise the plasma’s temperature closer to the extreme values

Neutrons—Insight into human tissue

Researchers used neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor to better understand how certain cells in human tissue bond together.

The configurational ensemble (a collection of 3D structures) of an intrinsically disordered protein, the N-terminal of c-Src kinase, which is a major signaling protein in humans. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Using the Titan supercomputer and the Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scientists have created the most accurate 3D model yet of an intrinsically disordered protein, revealing the ensemble of its atomic-level structures.

Mircea Podar is leading a team of ORNL scientists as they devise a new way to isolate and grow uncultured microbes for laboratory study. Credit: Genevieve Martin/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a way to isolate and grow targeted bacteria using genomic data, making strides toward resolving the grand challenge of uncultivated microbial “dark matter” in which the vast majority of microorganisms remain unstudied in the laboratory.

Summit supercomputer

Processes like manufacturing aircraft parts, analyzing data from doctors’ notes and identifying national security threats may seem unrelated, but at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, artificial intelligence is improving all of these tasks.

Water and energy are inextricably linked, yet in our 20th-century water systems we use freshwater once then throw it away. With innovations designed to enhance desalination technologies, agricultural runoff, produced water from industry, and inland brackish groundwater that are now seen as untreatable could all be sources of clean, safe, and affordable water.

The National Alliance for Water Innovation, a partnership of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, other national labs, university and private sector partners, has been awarded a five-year, $100 million Energy-Water Desalination Hub by DOE to address water security issues in the United States.

Amy Elliott

Amy Elliott, an engineer and researcher studying additive manufacturing at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been selected as one of 125 AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) IF/THEN Ambassadors.