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Ken Engle portrait

It was reading about current nuclear discoveries in textbooks that first made Ken Engle want to work at a national lab. It was seeing the real-world impact of the isotopes produced at ORNL 

 

Jonathan Harter, a technical professional in ORNL’s Engineering Science and Technology Directorate, uses a robot and other automated methods to disassemble electric vehicle batteries for recycling or reuse in the electric grid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

After being stabilized in an ambulance as he struggled to breathe, Jonathan Harter hit a low point. It was 2020, he was very sick with COVID-19, and his job as a lab technician at ORNL was ending along with his research funding.

Mirko Musa was always fascinated by the power of rivers, specifically how these mighty waterways sculpt landscapes. Now, as a water power researcher, he’s finding ways to harness that power and protect rivers at the same time. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Mirko Musa spent his childhood zigzagging his bike along the Po River. The Po, Italy’s longest river, cuts through a lush valley of grain and vegetable fields, which look like a green and gold ocean spreading out from the river’s banks. 

Entrepreneur-fellows in Innovation Crossroads will complete the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, a 12-week program offered by the Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park. Credit: UT Research Park

Entrepreneur-fellows in Innovation Crossroads will complete the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, a 12-week program offered by the Spark Innovation Center at the UT Research Park.

ORNL’s Jack Cahill, Eugene Dumitrescu, Dan Lu, Takaaki Koyanagi and Matthew Brahlek have been selected to receive Department of Energy Early Career Research awards. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Since its inception in 2010, the program bolsters national scientific discovery by supporting early career researchers in fields pertaining to the Office of Science.

Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

After completing a bachelor’s degree in biology, Toya Beiswenger didn’t intend to go into forensics. But almost two decades later, the nuclear security scientist at ORNL has found a way to appreciate the art of nuclear forensics.

Innovation Crossroads cohort 7

Seven entrepreneurs will embark on a two-year fellowship as the seventh cohort of Innovation Crossroads kicks off this month at ORNL. Representing a range of transformative energy technologies, Cohort 7 is a diverse class of innovators with promising new companies.

ORNL’s Fernanda Santos examines a soil sample at an NGEE Arctic field site in the Alaskan tundra in June 2022. Credit: Amy Breen, University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Wildfires are an ancient force shaping the environment, but they have grown in frequency, range and intensity in response to a changing climate. At ORNL, scientists are working on several fronts to better understand and predict these events and what they mean for the carbon cycle and biodiversity.

Stephen K. Streiffer named director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Headshot of Streiffer outside with background of green grass and trees

UT-Battelle has appointed Stephen K. Streiffer to be the next director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, joining the lab in October.

Upgrades to the particle accelerator enabling the record 1.7-megawatt beam power at the Spallation Neutron Source included adding 28 high-power radio-frequency klystrons (red tubes) to provide higher power for the accelerator. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory set a world record when its particle accelerator beam operating power reached 1.7 megawatts, substantially improving on the facility’s original design capability.