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A large group of attendees are pictured outside of Jackson Center in Huntsville, Alabama

ORNL and NASA co-hosted the fourth iteration of this invitation-only event, which brings together geospatial, computational, data and engineering experts around a theme. This year’s gathering focused on how artificial intelligence foundation models can enable geospatial digital twins. 

Pictured is a 3D printer that creates objects using electron beam melting, looks like a glowing orb.

Researchers have developed and 3D printed the lightest crack-free alloy capable of operating without melting at temperatures above 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit, which could enable additively manufactured turbine blades to better handle extreme temperatures, reducing the carbon footprint of gas turbine engines such as those used in airplanes.

Pictured is the IMAGINE instrument at the High Flux Isotope Reactor

Biochemist David Baker — just announced as a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry — turned to the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for information he couldn’t get anywhere else. HFIR is the strongest reactor-based neutron source in the United States.  

Team working on in green composites design for their fully-recyclable wind turbine blade tip incorporating low-cost carbon fiber

ORNL researchers were honored with a prestigious ACE Award for Composites Excellence by the American Composites Manufacturers Association. The team won the “innovation in green composites design” prize for creating a fully recyclable, lightweight wind turbine blade tip that incorporates low-cost carbon fiber and conductive coating for enhanced protection against lightning strikes. 

MedUSE wire-arc

Researchers at ORNL are using advanced manufacturing techniques to revitalize the domestic production of very large metal parts that weigh at least 10,000 pounds each and are necessary for a variety of industries, including energy.

West named SME 30 Under 30 honoree for 2024

Justin West, an advanced machining and machine tool researcher at ORNL, has been selected as a recipient of the 2024 30 Under 30 award by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Illustration of a hydrogen atom.

Scientists at ORNL used neutrons to end a decades-long debate about an enzyme cancer uses.

This illustration demonstrates how atomic configurations with an equiatomic concentration of niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and vanadium (V) can become disordered. The AI model helps researchers identify potential atomic configurations that can be used as shielding for housing fusion applications in a nuclear reactor. Credit: Massimiliano Lupo Pasini/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A study led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory details how artificial intelligence researchers created an AI model to help identify new alloys used as shielding for housing fusion applications components in a nuclear reactor. The findings mark a major step towards improving nuclear fusion facilities.

ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source, the nation’s leading source of pulsed neutron beams for research, was recently restarted after nine months of upgrade work. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source, the nation’s leading source of pulsed neutron beams for research, was recently restarted after nine months of upgrade work. 

Takeshi Egami stands at his workstation at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source where he used novel experimental methods to propose the density wave theory. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Distinguished materials scientist Takeshi Egami has spent his career revealing the complex atomic structure of metallic glass and other liquids — sometimes sharing theories with initially resistant minds in the scientific community.