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Jack Cahill of ORNL’s Biosciences Division is developing new techniques to view and measure the previously unseen to better understand important chemical processes at play in plant-microbe interactions and in human health. In this photo, Cahill is positioning a rhizosphere-on-a-chip platform for imaging by mass spectrometry. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy

John “Jack” Cahill is out to illuminate previously unseen processes with new technology, advancing our understanding of how chemicals interact to influence complex systems whether it’s in the human body or in the world beneath our feet.

Nearly $500 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding will support several key science projects underway at ORNL. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

Several significant science and energy projects led by the ORNL will receive a total of $497 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Matthew Craig’s research at ORNL is focused on how carbon cycles in and out of soils, a process that can have tremendous impact on the Earth’s climate. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Matthew Craig grew up eagerly exploring the forest patches and knee-high waterfalls just beyond his backyard in central Illinois’ corn belt. Today, that natural curiosity and the expertise he’s cultivated in biogeochemistry and ecology are focused on how carbon cycles in and out of soils, a process that can have tremendous impact on the Earth’s climate.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory today to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Stable Isotope Research and Development Center. The facility is slated to receive $75 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory today to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center. The facility is slated to receive $75 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

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.

Matt McCarthy uses images collected from the sky to interpret changes to the coastlines and oceans for national security research. Credit: Carlos Jones and Rachel Green/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

When Matt McCarthy saw an opportunity for a young career scientist to influence public policy, he eagerly raised his hand.

Melanie Mayes is an ORNL biogeochemist studying soil carbon cycling across varied ecosystems, including in urban environments. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Science has taken Melanie Mayes from Tennessee to the tropics, studying some of the most important ecosystems in the world.

Technology developed at ORNL to monitor plant productivity and health at wide scales has been licensed to Logan, Utah-based instrumentation firm Campbell Scientific Inc.

Technology developed at ORNL to monitor plant productivity and health at wide scales has been licensed to Logan, Utah-based instrumentation firm Campbell Scientific Inc.

Jim Szybist, Propulsion Science section head at ORNL, is applying his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

What’s getting Jim Szybist fired up these days? It’s the opportunity to apply his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector — from airplanes to locomotives to ships and massive farm combines.

David McCollum is bringing his interdisciplinary expertise in engineering, economics and policy to several initiatives at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the global effort to transform energy systems equitably while respecting planetary boundaries. Credit: Lindsay McCollum

David McCollum is using his interdisciplinary expertise, international networks and boundless enthusiasm to lead Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s contributions to the Net Zero World initiative.