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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.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists ingeniously created a sustainable, soft material by combining rubber with woody reinforcements and incorporating “smart” linkages between the components that unlock on demand. The smart linkages allow heat to unlock the structure, enabling the material to flow for rapid circular manufacturing, which essentially recycles materials back into the economy instead of discarding them.

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. 

Building innovations from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be on display in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall June 7 to June 9, 2024, during the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s, or HUD’s,  Innovation Housing Showcase. 

Momentum for manufacturing innovation in the United States got a boost during the inaugural MDF Innovation Days, held recently at the U.S. Department of Energy Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, or MDF, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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.

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. 

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.

A global team of researchers set a new benchmark for future experiments making materials in space rather than for space. The team included members from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories, Materials Development, Inc., NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Alfred University and the University of New Mexico. Together, they discovered that many kinds of glass, including ones that could be developed for next-generation optical devices, have similar atomic structure and arrangements and can successfully be made in space.

Matt and Brandon traveled to Ecuador's rainforests to map the Coca River with drones. The river is experiencing massive erosion and sedimentation problems after the San Rafael waterfall collapsed in 2020. Their work could help the country save a hydroelectric power plant that provides 30% of the country's electricity as well as roads and pipelines the area's people depend on for commerce and transportation.