Feature Articles

A tool developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers gives building owners and equipment manufacturers and installers an easy way to calculate the cost savings of a heating and cooling system that utilizes geothermal energy and emits no carbon.

Chemist Jeff Foster is looking for ways to control sequencing in polymers that could result in designer molecules to benefit a variety of industries, including medicine and energy. Using the technology that he and his colleagues are developing, “scientists can begin to understand how the sequence of monomers influences the behavior and properties of synthetic polymer materials,” said Foster, an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Alice Perrin, a materials scientist and Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, focuses her fellowship research on microstructural changes in nanocrystalline iron and tungsten alloys, which could result in new strategies for material design that resists the detrimental effects of radiation.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have confirmed that bacteria-killing viruses called bacteriophages deploy a sneaky tactic when targeting their hosts: They use a standard genetic code when invading bacteria, then switch to an alternate code at later stages of infection.

With larger, purer shipments on a more frequent basis, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is moving closer to routine production of promethium-147.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Weinberg Fellow Addis Fuhr uses quantum chemistry and machine learning methods to advance new materials.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a novel experimental platform called OpeN-AM to study additively manufactured metal in real time using beams of neutrons. The experimental system features a robotic arm that 3D-prints metal welds to create complex shapes and objects. The entire process is automated by special software that controls the robotic arm and determines to make neutron measurements. Understanding how welds form and behave at the microscopic scale will provide insights into optimizing the technology more mainstream industrial use.

The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense teamed up to create a series of weld filler materials that could dramatically improve high-strength steel repair in vehicles, bridges and pipelines. This novel weld wire could help revitalize America’s aging infrastructures, which in 2021 received a C- grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has exclusively licensed battery electrolyte technology to Safire Technology Group. The collection of five patented technologies are designed for a drop-in additive for lithium-ion batteries that prevents explosions and fire from impact.

As the United States shifts away from fossil-fuel-burning cars and trucks, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories are exploring options for another form of transportation: trains. The research focuses on zero-carbon hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels as viable alternatives to diesel for the rail industry.