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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

Carbon-negative platform turns waste gases into valuable chemicals

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

Govindarajan Muralidharan has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

ORNL’s Muralidharan elected fellow of the National Academy of Inventors

Muralidharan was recognized for “a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development and welfare of society.”

ORNL scientists used an electron beam for precision machining of nanoscale materials. Cubes were milled to change their shape and could also be removed from an array. Credit: Kevin Roccapriore/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Precision machining produces tiny, light-guiding cubes for advancing info tech

Drilling with the beam of an electron microscope, scientists at ORNL precisely machined tiny electrically conductive cubes that can interact with light and organized them in patterned structures that confine and relay light’s electromagnetic signal.

Mars Rover 2020

Secretary’s Honor Awards recognize dozens of ORNL employees

More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary Jennifer Granholm in January as part of project teams spanning the national laboratory system. The annual awards recognized 21 teams and three individuals for service and contributions to DOE’s mission and to the benefit of the nation.

Biofuels, such as those derived from the switchgrass being harvested in this field in Vonore, Tennessee, are just one of the technology-based solutions that ORNL summit participants identified recently as key to decarbonizing the agriculture sector. Credit: Erin G. Webb, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Taking on decarbonization in the ag sector: ORNL summit highlights focus areas

Energy and sustainability experts from ORNL, industry, universities and the federal government recently identified key focus areas to meet the challenge of successfully decarbonizing the agriculture sector

Using quantum Monte Carlo methods, the researchers simulated bulk VO2. Yellow and turquoise represent changes in electron density between the excited and ground states of a compound composed of oxygen, in red, and vanadium, in blue, which allowed them to evaluate how an oxygen vacancy, in white, can alter the compound’s properties. Credit: Panchapakesan Ganesh/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Artificially altered material could accelerate neuromorphic device development

Neuromorphic devices — which emulate the decision-making processes of the human brain — show great promise for solving pressing scientific problems, but building physical systems to realize this potential presents researchers with a significant

Merlin Theodore, advanced fibers manufacturing group leader and Tuskegee University alumna, will guide Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s collaboration with the university, through which students and researchers work together to advance the development of bioderived materials. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL, Tuskegee University collaborate on advanced bioderived materials research

ORNL and Tuskegee University have formed a partnership to develop new biodegradable materials for use in buildings, transportation and biomedical applications.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Granholm tours ORNL’s world-class science facilities

U.S. Secretary of Energy Granholm tours ORNL’s world-class science facilities

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited ORNL on Nov. 22 for a two-hour tour, meeting top scientists and engineers as they highlighted projects and world-leading capabilities that address some of the country’s most complex research and technical challenges. 

A material’s spins, depicted as red spheres, are probed by scattered neutrons. Applying an entanglement witness, such as the QFI calculation pictured, causes the neutrons to form a kind of quantum gauge. This gauge allows the researchers to distinguish between classical and quantum spin fluctuations. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Key witness helps scientists detect ‘spooky’ quantum entanglement in solid materials

A team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated the viability of a “quantum entanglement witness” capable of proving the presence of entanglement between magnetic particles, or spins, in a quantum material.

Researchers from ORNL’s Vehicle and Autonomy Research Group created a control strategy for a hybrid electric bus that demonstrated up to 30% energy savings. Credit: University of California, Riverside

Transportation – Cost-cutting controls

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers developed and demonstrated algorithm-based controls for a hybrid electric bus that yielded up to 30% energy savings compared with existing controls.