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Daryl Yang standing on a bridge overlooking a pond covered in water lillies

Daryl Yang is coupling his science and engineering expertise to devise new ways to measure significant changes going on in the Arctic, a region that’s warming nearly four times faster than other parts of the planet. The remote sensing technologies and modeling tools he develops and leverages for the Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments in the Arctic project, or NGEE Arctic, help improve models of the ecosystem to better inform decision-making as the landscape changes.

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After retiring from Y-12, Scott Abston joined the Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate to support isotope production and work with his former manager. He now leads a team maintaining critical equipment for medical and space applications. Abston finds fulfillment in mentoring his team and is pleased with his decision to continue working.

Bryan Maldonado

As a mechanical engineer in building envelope materials research at ORNL, Bryan Maldonado sees opportunities to apply his scientific expertise virtually everywhere he goes, from coast to coast. As an expert in understanding how complex systems operate, he’s using machine learning methods to control the process and ultimately optimize performance. 

Jeremiah Sewell

Jeremiah Sewell leads a team at ORNL, working on xenon-129 production for lung imaging. Reflecting on his career, Sewell views each opportunity as a "door" he steps through, leveraging over 25 years of experience in nuclear power and centrifuge operations to advance the facility’s mission.

Man is leaning against the window, arms crossed in a dark navy button up.

Brian Sanders is focused on impactful, multidisciplinary science at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, developing solutions for everything from improved imaging of plant-microbe interactions that influence ecosystem health to advancing new treatments for cancer and viral infections. 

Man in blue shirt and grey pants holds laptop and poses next to a green plant in a lab.

John Lagergren, a staff scientist in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Plant Systems Biology group, is using his expertise in applied math and machine learning to develop neural networks to quickly analyze the vast amounts of data on plant traits amassed at ORNL’s Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory.

Mohamad Zineddin

Mohamad Zineddin hopes to establish an interdisciplinary center of excellence for nuclear security at ORNL, combining critical infrastructure assessment and protection, risk mitigation, leadership in nuclear security, education and training, nuclear security culture and resilience strategies and techniques.

As a chemical engineer focusing on low-carbon energy sources like hydrogen, Cheekatamarla’s research at ORNL supports the deployment of clean energy technologies in buildings and industries. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Cheekatamarla is a researcher in the Multifunctional Equipment Integration group with previous experience in product deployment. He is researching alternative energy sources such as hydrogen for cookstoves and his research supports the decarbonization of building technologies. 

Alyssa Carrell is an ORNL ecologist studying how plant-microbe relationships can build resilience in natural ecosystems vulnerable to climate change. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Alyssa Carrell started her science career studying the tallest inhabitants in the forest, but today is focused on some of its smallest — the microbial organisms that play an outsized role in plant health. 

ORNL engineer Canan Karakaya uses computational modeling to design and improve chemical reactors and how they are operated to convert methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia or ethanol into higher-value chemicals or energy-dense fuels. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Canan Karakaya, a R&D Staff member in the Chemical Process Scale-Up group at ORNL, was inspired to become a chemical engineer after she experienced a magical transformation that turned ammonia gas into ammonium nitrate, turning a liquid into white flakes gently floating through the air.