Feature Articles

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Cincinnati achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the butanol they produce during fermentation of plant biomass. The discovery could pave the way for more efficient production of domestic fuels, chemicals and materials.

Researchers at Georgia State University used the Summit supercomputer to study an elaborate molecular pathway called nucleotide excision repair, or NER. They built a computer model of a critical NER component called the pre-incision complex, or PInC, which plays a key role in regulating DNA repair processes in the latter stages of the NER pathway. Decoding NER’s sophisticated sequence of events and the role of PInC in the pathway could provide key insights into developing novel treatments and preventing conditions that lead to premature aging and certain types of cancer.

A workshop led by scientists at ORNL sketched a road map toward a longtime goal: development of autonomous, or self-driving, next-generation research laboratories. 

Relying on leading-edge germanium detectors developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the scientific community pursues elusive nuclear processes to unlock persistent mysteries. Answers to questions they hope to resolve hold the potential to redefine the universe itself. 

Nick Gregorich and Syed Islam, ORNL R&D staff, recently completed Cohort 19 of the Energy I-Corps program, an initiative of DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions, or OTT, that provides teams of researchers and industry mentors with an immersive two-month training to develop commercialization pathways for laboratory-developed technologies.

ORNL staff and its managing contractor, UT-Battelle, donated $1,104,866 in the 2024 ORNL Gives campaign, an annual employee-led effort to address needs throughout East Tennessee. 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new automated testing capability for semiconductor devices, which is newly available to researchers and industry partners in the Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center, or GRID-C.

A healthy global food supply requires healthy soil, which requires fertilizer to replace and or enhance the nutrients found in the soil. Many farmers use synthetic fertilizers, which are produced from petroleum and fossil fuels. The lack of fertilizer threatens global food security, in addition to making growing food cost-prohibitive for small scale farmers.

Nick Sokol, a member of the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Lab, founded Algaeo, whose technology enables farmers to efficiently grow organic fertilizers on-site from microalgae, making the entire experience of farming easier and less labor intensive while also producing healthy and good-quality food.

A research partnership between two Department of Energy national laboratories has accelerated inspection of additively manufactured nuclear components, and the effort is now expanding to inspect nuclear fuels. Idaho National Laboratory is using a software algorithm developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to check for flaws in additively manufactured components as part of the process of identifying promising metals and alloys for 3D printing the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Back in the early days of his college career, Chad Parish realized his curiosity and interests were drawing him to the type of work he performs today in the Low Activation Materials Development and Analysis, or LAMDA, laboratory at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Using microscopy and microstructural characterization, he reveals the intricate atomic structures of materials essential for developing safer and more economical nuclear reactors. His talents and expertise place him at the center of many collaborations that pertain to materials for extreme environments and national security.