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Researchers at ORNL developed a scalable processing technique to 3D print a plant-based composite material. Credit: Ngoc Nguyen/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A scalable processing technique developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory uses plant-based materials for 3D printing and offers a promising additional revenue stream for biorefineries.

ORNL researchers insert a device to be tested on the SI-GRID platform. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Oak Ridge National Laboratory engineers have devised a testbed that lets them mimic high-voltage equipment in a safe, low-voltage setting.
Micael Starke

When Michael Starke leaves the lab each day, he continues his work, in a sense, at home. The power systems engineer is developing methods to precisely control building electrical loads—and in his off hours, he has automated his own home with upwards of 90 smart devices to manage everything from heat...

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For decades, biologists have believed a key enzyme in plants had one function—produce amino acids, which are vital to plant survival and also essential to human diets. But for Wellington Muchero, Meng Xie and their colleagues, this enzyme does more than advertised. They had run a series of experiments on poplar plants that consistently revealed mutations in a structure of the life-sustaining enzyme that was not previously known to exist.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory launches Summit supercomputer.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory today unveiled Summit as the world’s most powerful and smartest scientific supercomputer.

As part of the Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments Arctic project, scientists use a hydraulic rig to extract soil samples from the frozen soil in Utqiaġvik, Alaska.

Digging into the Arctic tundra, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered new insights into how quickly microorganisms break down organic matter in warming Arctic soil—a process that releases stored carbon as carbon dioxide and methane. The team studied soil extracted...

ORNL inventors Bruce Warmack, left, and Nance Ericson display an early prototype of the DC hotstick. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
North Carolina-based Hotstick USA has exclusively licensed a direct-current detector technology developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help emergency responders safely detect high voltages. In emergency situations, first response ...
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For the past six years, some 140 scientists from five institutions have traveled to the Arctic Circle and beyond to gather field data as part of the Department of Energy-sponsored NGEE Arctic project. This article gives insight into how scientists gather the measurements that inform t...

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When whistler waves are present in a fusion plasma, runaway electrons pay attention. A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the first to directly observe the elusive waves inside a highly energized magnetic field as electrons zoom ar...
Christina Forrester

Christina Forrester’s meticulous nature is a plus for her work leading technical testing and analysis of radiological and nuclear detection devices, whether that work takes her to the Desert Southwest or to her own lab outfitted with specialized