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ORNL metabolic engineer Adam Guss develops genetic tools to modify microbes that can perform a range of processes needed to create sustainable biofuels and bioproducts. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

As a metabolic engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Adam Guss modifies microbes to perform the diverse processes needed to make sustainable biofuels and bioproducts.

David Sholl is director of the new ORNL Transformational Decarbonization Initiative, working to elevate the lab’s prominence in decarbonization science and technology. Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy.

David Sholl has come to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a wealth of scientific expertise and a personal mission: hasten the development and deployment of decarbonization solutions for the nation’s energy system.

ORNL researchers demonstrated a 3D printed power pole made of bioderived and recycled materials could be easily manufactured, transported and assembled, enabling the quick restoration of power after natural disasters. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated the ability to additively manufacture power poles from bioderived and recycled materials, which could more quickly restore electricity after natural disasters.

ORNL researchers installed and demonstrated their wireless charging technology for the first time on an autonomous vehicle – the Local Motors Olli shuttle bus. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers demonstrated their wireless charging technology on an autonomous electric vehicle for the first time in a project with Local Motors.

A team of scientists found that microbes at the SPRUCE experiment in the Minnesota peatlands are increasing production of methane under warming conditions. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists studying a unique whole-ecosystem warming experiment in the Minnesota peatlands found that microorganisms are increasing methane production faster than carbon dioxide production. 

Benjamin Sulman, a scientist in ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division, creates Earth system models that simulate how plants, microbes and soils interact and influence the cycling of carbon, water and nutrients in their environment. His work aims to helps researchers across disciplines better understand complex, rapidly changing ecosystems, including coastal wetlands and Arctic permafrost soils. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

As rising global temperatures alter ecosystems worldwide, the need to accurately simulate complex environmental processes under evolving conditions is more urgent than ever.

Balendra Sutharshan

In the mid-1980s, Balendra Sutharshan moved to Canada from the island nation of Sri Lanka. That move set Sutharshan on a path that had him heading continent-spanning collaborations and holding leadership posts at multiple Department of Energy

ORNL and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists studied the formation of amorphous ice like the exotic ice found in interstellar space and on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory successfully created amorphous ice, similar to ice in interstellar space and on icy worlds in our solar system. They documented that its disordered atomic behavior is unlike any ice on Earth.

At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Carly Hansen combines her passion for research and her commitment to protecting water resources. Hansen’s research covers topics from development opportunities at non-powered dams to hydropower storage capacity. Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Carly Hansen, a water resources engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is rethinking what’s possible for hydropower in the United States.

Deborah Frincke, one of the nation’s preeminent computer scientists and cybersecurity experts, serves as associate laboratory director of ORNL’s National Security Science Directorate. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Deborah Frincke, one of the nation’s preeminent computer scientists and cybersecurity experts, serves as associate laboratory director of ORNL’s National Security Science Directorate. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy