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Media Contacts
![To understand the electronic structures of solids and predict their properties, ORNL’s Valentino Cooper uses density functional theory (DFT), which models how many electrons are in a region rather than where those electrons are. “DFT essentially presents one electron existing in a ‘sea foam’ and tells how dense that foam is,” he said. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/2019-P18109_0.jpg?h=aa35fa95&itok=t045nmpS)
Valentino (“Tino”) Cooper of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory uses theory, modeling and computation to improve fundamental understanding of advanced materials for next-generation energy and information technologies.
![microscope lens and lithium battery prototype](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/Lithium%20Battery%20Research%2020183101_6400_0.jpg?h=58c8a5e7&itok=v-7_CmEt)
The formation of lithium dendrites is still a mystery, but materials engineers study the conditions that enable dendrites and how to stop them.
![Scanning probe microscopes use an atom-sharp tip—only a few nanometers thick—to image materials on a nanometer length scale. The probe tip, invisible to the eye, is attached to a cantilever (pictured) that moves across material surfaces like the tone arm on a record player. Credit: Genevieve Martin/Oak Ridge National Laboratory; U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/2019-P15115.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=o69jyoNw)
Liam Collins was drawn to study physics to understand “hidden things” and honed his expertise in microscopy so that he could bring them to light.
![The lithium-aluminum-layered double hydroxide chloride (LDH) sorbent being developed by ORNL targets recovery of lithium from geothermal brines—paving the way for increased domestic production of the material for today’s rechargeable batteries. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/LithiumSorbentGraphic.jpg?h=30e6a823&itok=RX_03vKA)
In the quest for domestic sources of lithium to meet growing demand for battery production, scientists at ORNL are advancing a sorbent that can be used to more efficiently recover the material from brine wastes at geothermal power plants.
![ORNL-developed cryogenic memory cell circuit designs fabricated onto these small chips by SeeQC, a superconducting technology company, successfully demonstrated read, write and reset memory functions. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/2019-P17636.png?h=39b94f55&itok=udTwXJwT)
Scientists at have experimentally demonstrated a novel cryogenic, or low temperature, memory cell circuit design based on coupled arrays of Josephson junctions, a technology that may be faster and more energy efficient than existing memory devices.
![Victor Fung is a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/Fung-P00011.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=RbDXGCwB)
Eugene P. Wigner Fellow Victor Fung’s story is proof that a series of positive experiences around science and happy accidents can lead to a rewarding research career. He joined ORNL in 2019.
![Image caption: An ORNL research team lead is developing a universal benchmark for the accuracy and performance of quantum computers based on quantum chemistry simulations. The benchmark will help the community evaluate and develop new quantum processors. (Below left: schematic of one of quantum circuits used to test the RbH molecule. Top left: molecular orbitals used. Top right: actual results obtained using the bottom left circuit for RbH).](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/qcomp_0_0.jpg?h=933930d9&itok=iHNCdTb8)
Researchers at ORNL have developed a quantum chemistry simulation benchmark to evaluate the performance of quantum devices and guide the development of applications for future quantum computers.
![Friederike Bock, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-12/Bock200_0.jpg?h=98199530&itok=ryxpJ_x4)
Friederike Bock, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow, wants everyone to know scientists aren’t just robots—they want to help others understand their research, and they have wide-ranging interests.
![The students analyzed diatom images like this one to compare wild and genetically modified strains of these organisms. Credit: Alison Pawlicki/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/RI4362007.png?h=37702503&itok=9lQReLRe)
Students often participate in internships and receive formal training in their chosen career fields during college, but some pursue professional development opportunities even earlier.
![Nanofabricated “golden lollipop” helps researchers observe Fano interference using electron microscopy techniques at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/PRLfig2_2.png?h=dcd3a193&itok=jT5BcENX)
Electrons in atoms are pretty talented. They can form chemical bonds, get kicked out of the atom and even “jump” to different locations based on their energetic states.