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Media Contacts
![Scientists conducted microbial DNA sampling at a Yellowstone National Park hot spring for a study sponsored by DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research program, the National Science Foundation and NASA. Credit: Mircea Podar/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/hot-springs_0.png?h=e68b456d&itok=ioNfSScN)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists studied hot springs on different continents and found similarities in how some microbes adapted despite their geographic diversity.
![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](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/2021-P06328_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=elZeutaQ)
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](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/mirkomusa_2023-p05038.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=3Az47BKS)
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.
![ORNL researchers used geotagged photos to map crude oil train routes in the U.S. The mapping gives transportation planners insight into understanding potential impacts along the routes. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-07/trainMap%5B69%5D.png?h=804c67fb&itok=LM393FRy)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers used images from a photo-sharing website to identify crude oil train routes across the nation to provide data that could help transportation planners better understand regional impacts.
![Herwig shared the impacts of neutron science with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm during a tour of SNS in November 2021. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2021-P09386_0.jpg?h=dce8aa9f&itok=BTb6xmeI)
Ken Herwig's scientific drive crystallized in his youth when he solved a tough algebra word problem in his head while tossing newspapers from his bicycle. He said the joy he felt in that moment as a teenager fueled his determination to conquer mathematical mysteries. And he did.
![ORNL researchers have developed a new pressing method, shown as blue circle on right, that produces a more uniform solid electrolyte than the traditionally processed material with more voids, shown as gray circle on left. The material can be integrated into a battery system, center, for improved stability and rate performance. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/Electrolyte.StoryTip_0.png?h=b6717701&itok=PIYcf5iS)
ORNL scientists found that a small tweak created big performance improvements in a type of solid-state battery, a technology considered vital to broader electric vehicle adoption.
![Mali Balasubramanian made a rewarding mid-career shift to focus on studying new battery materials and systems using X-ray spectroscopy and other methods. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/Balasubramanian.portrait_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=pK7rBnui)
Having passed the midpoint of his career, physicist Mali Balasubramanian was part of a tight-knit team at a premier research facility for X-ray spectroscopy. But then another position opened, at ORNL— one that would take him in a new direction.
![Neutron scattering experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source revealed how the dynamics between copper and oxygen make a special type of enzyme excel at breaking down biomass. Insights could lead to lowering the cost of biofuel production. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/23-G02576_Meilleur_0.png?h=b6717701&itok=jPIOwV6b)
Nonfood, plant-based biofuels have potential as a green alternative to fossil fuels, but the enzymes required for production are too inefficient and costly to produce. However, new research is shining a light on enzymes from fungi that could make biofuels economically viable.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists led the development of a supply chain model revealing the optimal places to site farms, biorefineries, pipelines and other infrastructure for sustainable aviation fuel production.
![ORNL researchers used diamonds to compress materials to 1.2 million times ambient pressure and software to remove signal interference and extract data on pressure-induced atomic structures. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/23-G03399_DiamondAnvil_proof3_red_beams_0.png?h=36fc5f13&itok=cOUv6W8n)
For decades, scientists sought a way to apply the outstanding analytical capabilities of neutrons to materials under pressures approaching those surrounding the Earth’s core.