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Media Contacts
![ORNL’s Adam Guss and colleagues used synthetic biology to develop a custom microbe capable of converting deconstructed mixed plastic waste into valuable new materials. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-10/Guss%202021-P05226.png?h=8f9cfe54&itok=0Ddrp5eq)
Scientists working on a solution for plastic waste have developed a two-step chemical and biological process to break down and upcycle mixed plastics into valuable bioproducts.
![ORNL’s Valentino Cooper will direct a new DOE Energy Frontier Research Center focused on polymer electrolytes for solid-state batteries. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/polymer_0_thumbnail.png?h=6d5d7bb8&itok=nNggv-oK)
ORNL has been selected to lead an Energy Frontier Research Center, or EFRC, focused on polymer electrolytes for next-generation energy storage devices such as fuel cells and solid-state electric vehicle batteries.
![Samarthya Bhagia examines a sample of a thermoplastic composite material additively manufactured using poplar wood and polylactic acid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-07/2022-P03486.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=sdSfzVet)
Chemical and environmental engineer Samarthya Bhagia is focused on achieving carbon neutrality and a circular economy by designing new plant-based materials for a range of applications from energy storage devices and sensors to environmentally friendly bioplastics.
![ORNL polymer scientists Tomonori Saito, left, and Sungjin Kim upcycled waste plastic to create a stronger, tougher, solvent-resistant material for new additive manufacturing applications. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/2022-P04745_2.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=9DI9K-vJ)
ORNL researchers have developed an upcycling approach that adds value to discarded plastics for reuse in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing.
![ORNL scientists created a new microbial trait mapping process that improves on classical protoplast fusion techniques to identify the genes that trigger desirable genetic traits like improved biomass processing. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy. Reprinted with the permission of Oxford University Press, publisher of Nucleic Acids Research](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/Nucleic%20Cover%20Illustration.jpg?h=4a9d1e17&itok=iw81emAt)
ORNL scientists had a problem mapping the genomes of bacteria to better understand the origins of their physical traits and improve their function for bioenergy production.
![Scientists from LanzaTech, Northwestern University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory engineered a microbe, shown in light blue, to convert molecules of industrial waste gases, such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, into acetone. The same microbe can also make isopropanol. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-02/LanzaTech_microbeFactory_lrg_1.jpg?h=049a2be9&itok=QLOV6cQI)
A team of scientists from LanzaTech, Northwestern University and ORNL have developed carbon capture technology that harnesses emissions from industrial processes to produce acetone and isopropanol
![ORNL’s biosensor system reveals CRISPR activity in poplar plants, which glow bright green under ultraviolet light, compared to normal plants, which appear red. Credit: Guoliang Yuan/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-12/GFPuv.png?h=b657ac0b&itok=Qs2Z_btM)
Detecting the activity of CRISPR gene editing tools in organisms with the naked eye and an ultraviolet flashlight is now possible using technology developed at ORNL.
![Ten scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among the world’s most highly cited researchers. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/2008-P01679_0.jpg?h=6acbff97&itok=ewBiiftq)
Ten scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among the world’s most highly cited researchers, according to a bibliometric analysis conducted by the scientific publication analytics firm Clarivate.
![Carrie Eckert](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/2021-P08048.jpg?h=fdb72c6d&itok=pWcXR26-)
Carrie Eckert applies her skills as a synthetic biologist at ORNL to turn microorganisms into tiny factories that produce a variety of valuable fuels, chemicals and materials for the growing bioeconomy.
![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](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/2021-P05224.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=_5e3ckBD)
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.