Skip to main content
Paul Langan will oversee ORNL's research directorate focused on biological and environmental systems science. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Paul Langan will join ORNL in the spring as associate laboratory director for the Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate.

When an electron beam drills holes in heated graphene, single-atom vacancies, shown in purple, diffuse until they join with other vacancies to form stationary structures and chains, shown in blue. Credit: Ondrej Dyck/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers serendipitously discovered when they automated the beam of an electron microscope to precisely drill holes in the atomically thin lattice of graphene, the drilled holes closed up.

Eight ORNL scientists are among the world’s most highly cited researchers, Credit: Butch Newton/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Eight ORNL scientists are among the world’s most highly cited researchers, according to a bibliometric analysis conducted by the scientific publication analytics firm Clarivate.

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.

Rama Vasudevan

Rama Vasudevan, a research scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, or APS. The honor recognizes members who have made significant contributions to physics and its application to science and technology.

Scientists used genome sequencing and computational biology to tease out the genetic profile of a new moss species, Sphagnum magni, typically found in the southeastern United States. Credit: Blanka Aguero, Duke University

A team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Duke University and other institutions studying Sphagnum moss have identified two new species in North America, and they are learning how evolution may affect the species’ role in carbon storage.

A team of researchers used mathematics to predict which areas of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are most likely to mutate. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers from ORNL, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Tuskegee University used mathematics to predict which areas of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are most likely to mutate.

Technology Innovation Program

Five technologies invented by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been selected for targeted investment through ORNL’s Technology Innovation Program.

Thylakoid

A team of scientists led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a theory that thylakoids, membrane networks key to plant photosynthesis, also function as a defense mechanism to harsh growing conditions, which could aid the development of hardier plants.

MDF Exterior

ORNL scientists will present new technologies available for licensing during the annual Technology Innovation Showcase. The event is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, June 16, at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL’s Hardin Valley campus.