![Weyl semimetal](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_square_large/public/2024-08/Picture4.jpg?h=b38bf506&itok=nYXXiLDs)
Filter News
Area of Research
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Bioenergy (10)
- (-) Biomedical (7)
- (-) Composites (2)
- (-) Computer Science (17)
- (-) Environment (21)
- (-) Exascale Computing (2)
- (-) Frontier (2)
- (-) Fusion (6)
- (-) National Security (5)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (7)
- Advanced Reactors (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (5)
- Big Data (1)
- Biology (16)
- Biotechnology (3)
- Buildings (3)
- Chemical Sciences (5)
- Clean Water (3)
- Climate Change (4)
- Coronavirus (5)
- Cybersecurity (3)
- Decarbonization (3)
- Energy Storage (8)
- Grid (2)
- High-Performance Computing (10)
- Isotopes (7)
- ITER (2)
- Materials (9)
- Materials Science (10)
- Mercury (3)
- Microscopy (7)
- Nanotechnology (6)
- Neutron Science (9)
- Nuclear Energy (6)
- Physics (2)
- Polymers (3)
- Quantum Computing (2)
- Quantum Science (6)
- Security (3)
- Space Exploration (1)
- Summit (5)
- Sustainable Energy (8)
- Transportation (7)
Media Contacts
![Joseph Pickel has been elected a 2021 fellow of the American Chemical Society. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/2021-P05142_0.jpg?h=c74750f6&itok=uUGzy6GP)
Joseph Pickel has been elected a 2021 fellow of the American Chemical Society, or ACS. Pickel supports the Fusion and Fission Energy and Sciences Directorate as environment, safety and health
![ORNL metabolic engineer Adam Guss develops genetic tools to modify microbes that can perform a range of processes needed to create sustainable biofuels and bioproducts. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/2021-P05224.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=_5e3ckBD)
As a metabolic engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Adam Guss modifies microbes to perform the diverse processes needed to make sustainable biofuels and bioproducts.
![Researchers studying secondary metabolites in the fungus Aspergillus flavus, pictured, found unique mixes of metabolites corresponding to genetically distinct populations. The finding suggests local environmental conditions play a key role in secondary metabolite production, influencing the discovery of drugs and other useful compounds. Credit: Tomás Allen Rush/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-07/DSC0351.jpg?h=b2d9f031&itok=PNgYY5eW)
Scientists at ORNL and the University of Wisconsin–Madison have discovered that genetically distinct populations within the same species of fungi can produce unique mixes of secondary metabolites, which are organic compounds with applications in
![ORNL’s Josh Michener, a microbiologist and metabolic engineer, led the discovery of a useful new enzyme that breaks down stubborn bonds in lignin, a polymer found in plants that typically becomes waste during bioconversion. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/2019-P05683_0.jpg?h=4c5cadcc&itok=FSVdbEYP)
In a step toward increasing the cost-effectiveness of renewable biofuels and bioproducts, scientists at ORNL discovered a microbial enzyme that degrades tough-to-break bonds in lignin, a waste product of biorefineries.
![Benjamin Sulman, a scientist in ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division, creates Earth system models that simulate how plants, microbes and soils interact and influence the cycling of carbon, water and nutrients in their environment. His work aims to helps researchers across disciplines better understand complex, rapidly changing ecosystems, including coastal wetlands and Arctic permafrost soils. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/2020-P17155.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=6M4vpxvC)
As rising global temperatures alter ecosystems worldwide, the need to accurately simulate complex environmental processes under evolving conditions is more urgent than ever.
![Kathy McCarthy, associate laboratory director for Fusion and Fission Energy and Science, has been elected fellow of the American Nuclear Society. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/2021-P00782_0.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=ndt_x8A1)
Kathy McCarthy, associate laboratory director for Fusion and Fission Energy and Science at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected fellow of the American Nuclear Society for her nationally and internationally recognized leadership in nuclear energy and fusion.
![An ORNL-led team comprising researchers from multiple DOE national laboratories is using artificial intelligence and computational screening techniques – in combination with experimental validation – to identify and design five promising drug therapy approaches to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/frame1.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=51pwBWyP)
An ORNL-led team comprising researchers from multiple DOE national laboratories is using artificial intelligence and computational screening techniques – in combination with experimental validation – to identify and design five promising drug therapy approaches to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
![Aviation contributes about 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. To greatly reduce its emissions, the U.S. commercial aviation sector needs new methods of making sustainable aviation fuel. Credit: Ross Parmly/Unsplash](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/ross-parmly-rf6ywHVkrlY-unsplash_0.jpg?h=fee4874d&itok=BEdQYEQ2)
ORNL’s Zhenglong Li led a team tasked with improving the current technique for converting ethanol to C3+ olefins and demonstrated a unique composite catalyst that upends current practice and drives down costs. The research was published in ACS Catalysis.
![A research team led by ORNL’s Xiaohan Yang used a gene from agave to engineer higher yield, improved stress tolerance and greater carbon sequestration in tobacco plants. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/2019-P09831.jpg?h=39b94f55&itok=8O8d7xMb)
Scientists at ORNL have discovered a single gene that simultaneously boosts plant growth and tolerance for stresses such as drought and salt, all while tackling the root cause of climate change by enabling plants to pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
![Peter Thornton, right, works with Robertsville Middle School students to assemble the RamSat. Credit: Ian Goethert/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/PXL_20210121_225402921.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=C4lHQRhb)
RamSat’s mission is to take pictures of the forests around Gatlinburg, which were destroyed by wildfire in 2016. The mission is wholly designed and carried out by students, teachers and mentors, with support from numerous organizations, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory.