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Parans Paranthaman, a researcher in the Chemical Sciences Division at ORNL, coordinated research efforts to study the filter efficiency of the N95 material. His published results represent one of the first studies on polypropylene as it relates to COVID-19. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Parans Paranthaman suddenly found himself working from home like millions of others.

ORNL researchers used electron beam powder bed fusion to produce refractory metal molybdenum, which remained crack free and dense, proving its viability for additive manufacturing applications. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists proved molybdenum titanium carbide, a refractory metal alloy that can withstand extreme temperature environments, can also be crack free and dense when produced with electron beam powder bed fusion. 

FAF5 diagram

A newly released dataset that tracks the movement of everything from food to gasoline across the United States by air, water, truck, rail and pipeline showed the value and tonnage of those goods rose significantly between 2012 and 2017.

Urban climate modeling

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have identified a statistical relationship between the growth of cities and the spread of paved surfaces like roads and sidewalks. These impervious surfaces impede the flow of water into the ground, affecting the water cycle and, by extension, the climate.

ORNL researchers used an electrochemical process to heal dendrites that formed in a ceramic, garnet-based catalyst designed for a solid-state lithium battery. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory successfully demonstrated a technique to heal dendrites that formed in a solid electrolyte, resolving an issue that can hamper the performance of high energy-density, solid-state batteries.

ORNL researchers combined additive manufacturing with conventional compression molding to produce high-performance thermoplastic composites, demonstrating the potential for the use of large-scale multimaterial preforms to create molded composites. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers combined additive manufacturing with conventional compression molding to produce high-performance thermoplastic composites reinforced with short carbon fibers.

Researchers at ORNL and the University of Tennessee developed an automated workflow that combines chemical robotics and machine learning to speed the search for stable perovskites. Credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee are automating the search for new materials to advance solar energy technologies.

Xin Sun

Xin Sun has been selected as the associate laboratory director for the Energy Science and Technology Directorate, or ESTD, at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

ORNL researchers used gas metal arc welding additive technology to print the die for a B-pillar or vertical roof support structure for a sport utility vehicle, demonstrating a 20% improvement in the cooling rate. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

A team of Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers demonstrated that an additively manufactured hot stamping die – a tool used to create car body components – cooled faster than those produced by conventional manufacturing methods.

Verónica Melesse Vergara speaks with third and fourth graders at East Side Intermediate School in Brownsville. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Twenty-seven ORNL researchers Zoomed into 11 middle schools across Tennessee during the annual Engineers Week in February. East Tennessee schools throughout Oak Ridge and Roane, Sevier, Blount and Loudon counties participated, with three West Tennessee schools joining in.