News Releases

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Apr-2025 16:08 ET (19-Apr-2025 20:08 GMT/UTC)

Banana fiber provides ’a-peeling’ fodder for undergraduate research

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Participants in the SM2ART Research Experience for Undergraduates program got the chance to see what life is like in a research setting. REU participant Brianna Greer studied banana fibers as a reinforcing material in making lightweight parts for cars and bicycles.

Scientists probe chilling behavior of promising solid-state cooling material

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has bridged a knowledge gap in atomic-scale heat motion. This new understanding holds promise for enhancing materials to advance an emerging technology called solid-state cooling.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Partridge receives Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Bill Partridge, a recently retired distinguished researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was recognized by DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office, or VTO, for leading world-class research in transportation throughout his 25-year career. His expertise has guided the development of advanced diagnostic tools that enabled next-generation engines and emissions control systems.

Researchers harness AI for autonomous discovery and optimization of materials

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Today, researchers are developing ways to accelerate discovery by combining automated experiments, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. A novel tool developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that leverages those technologies has demonstrated that AI can influence materials synthesis and conduct associated experiments without human supervision.

Journal: Small Methods
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy

Yuan elevated to IEEE senior member

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Jinghui Yuan, an R&D staff member in the Applied Research for Mobility Systems group at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elevated to a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE.

Webb named Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Erin Webb, lead for the Bioresources Science and Engineering group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, or ASABE — the society’s highest honor.

Funder: U.S. Department of Energy

Sky’s the limit for biofuels

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Reports and Proceedings

The United States has enough biomass potential to produce 35 billion gallons per year of aviation biofuel by 2050, a new report confirms. ORNL’s John Field provided biomass feedstock production expertise to the report focused on the role of the bioeconomy in U.S. decarbonization strategies.

Tennessee institutions partner to develop dependable AI for national security applications

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Business Announcement

At the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit 2024 in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced a partnership to develop training, testing and evaluation methods that will accelerate the Department of Defense’s adoption of AI-based systems in operational environments.

Wagner named 2024 recipient of the ASME George Westinghouse Gold Medal

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Robert Wagner, associate laboratory director for the Energy Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been selected to receive the George Westinghouse Gold Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or ASME. The award recognizes his work to advance state-of-the-art clean power generation systems through research on combustion, fuel technologies and controls.

Promethium bound: Rare earth element’s secrets exposed

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have uncovered the properties of a rare earth element that was first discovered 80 years ago at the very same laboratory, opening a new pathway for the exploration of elements critical in modern technology, from medicine to space travel.

Journal: Nature
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program

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