91°µÍø

From decoding plant genomes to modeling microbial behavior, computational biologist Priya Ranjan builds computational tools that turn extensive biological datasets into real-world insights. These tools transform the way scientists ask and answer complex biological questions that advance biotechnology breakthroughs and support cultivation of better crops for energy and food security. 

Scientists have developed a new machine learning approach that accurately predicted critical and difficult-to-compute properties of molten salts, materials with diverse nuclear energy applications. 

Stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum, carbon fiber is a staple in aerospace and high-performance vehicles — and now, scientists at ORNL have found a way to make it even stronger.

The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, or CBI, at the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍø has promoted Melissa Cregger and Carrie Eckert to serve as chief science officers, advancing the center’s mission of innovations for new domestic biofuels, chemicals and materials.

Members of the Quantum Science Center, or QSC, gathered at an all-hands meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in mid-May to reflect on the remarkable accomplishments from the past five years and to prepare for what members hope to be the next five years of the center.

Paul is exploring the next frontier: bridging quantum computing with neutron science. His research aims to integrate quantum algorithms with neutron scattering experiments, opening new possibilities for understanding materials at an atomic level.

The fifth annual Quantum Science Center, or QSC, Summer School at Purdue University, held Apr. 21 through Apr. 25, 2025, welcomed its largest group of students to date. Experts from industry, academia and national laboratories gathered at the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute to share their research in multiple areas of quantum science.

A research team from the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍø, in collaboration with North Carolina State University, has developed a simulation capable of predicting how tens of thousands of electrons move in materials in real time, or natural time rather than compute time.

Analyzing massive datasets from nuclear physics experiments can take hours or days to process, but researchers are working to radically reduce that time to mere seconds using special software being developed at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge national laboratories.  

Jesse Labbé aims to leverage biology, computation and engineering to address societal challenges related to energy, national security and health, while enhancing U.S. competitiveness. Labbé emphasizes the importance of translating groundbreaking research into practical applications that have real-world impact.