Katy Bradford: Cassette approach offers compelling construction solution
For the first time, ORNL will run equipment developed at its research facilities on a commercially available quantum network at EPB Quantum Network powered by Qubitekk to help validate the technology's commercial viability.
A new convergent manufacturing platform, developed in only five months at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is debuting at the International Manufacturing Technology Show, or IMTS, in Chicago, Sept. 9–12, 2024.
As high-tech companies ramp up construction of massive data centers to meet the business boom in artificial intelligence, one component is becoming an increasingly rare commodity: electricity. Since its formation in 2004, the OLCF has fielded five generations of world-class supercomputing systems that have produced a nearly 2,000 times reduction in energy usage per floating point operation per second, or flops. With decades of experience in making HPC more energy efficient, the OLCF may serve as a resource for best “bang for the buck” practices in a suddenly burgeoning industry.
A team led by scientists at ORNL identified and demonstrated a method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%, using simulations on the lab’s supercomputers and follow-on analysis.
Office of Science to announce a new research and development opportunity led by ORNL to advance technologies and drive new capabilities for future supercomputers. This industry research program worth $23 million, called New Frontiers, will initiate partnerships with multiple companies to accelerate the R&D of critical technologies with renewed emphasis on energy efficiency for the next generation of post-exascale computing in the 2029 and beyond time frame.
ORNL is working with industry partners to develop a technique that combines 3D printing and conventional machining to produce large metal parts for clean energy applications. The project, known as Rapid Research on Universal Near Net Shape Fabrication Strategies for Expedited Runner Systems, or Rapid RUNNERS, recently received $15 million in funding from DOE.
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.
ORNL is the lead partner on five research collaborations with private fusion companies in the 2024 cohort of the Innovation Network for FUSion Energy, or INFUSE, program. These collaborative projects are intended to resolve technical hurdles and develop enabling technologies to accelerate fusion energy research in the private sector.
A digital construction platform in development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is boosting the retrofitting of building envelopes and giving builders the tools to automate the process from design to installation with the assistance of a cable-driven robotic crane.
DOE commissioned a neutron imaging instrument, VENUS, at the Spallation Neutron Source in July. VENUS instrument scientists will use AI to deliver 3D models to researchers in half the time it typically takes.