Quantum precision reached in modeling molten salt behavior
In early November, ORNL hosted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Interregional Workshop on Safety, Security and Safeguards by Design in Small Modular Reactors, which welcomed 76 attendees representing 15 countries, three U.S. national labs, domestic and international industry partners, as well as IAEA officers.
Using a best-of-nature approach developed by researchers working with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍø and Dartmouth University, startup company Terragia Biofuel is targeting commercial biofuels production that relies on renewable plant waste and consumes less energy. The technology can help meet the demand for billions of gallons of clean liquid fuels needed to reduce emissions from airplanes, ships and long-haul trucks.
The Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory at ORNL utilizes robotics, multi-modal imaging, and AI to enhance understanding of plant genetics and interactions with microbes. It aims to connect genes to traits for advancements in bioenergy, agriculture, and climate resilience. Senior scientist Larry York highlights the lab's capabilities and the insights from a new digital underground imaging system to improve biomass feedstocks for bioenergy and carbon storage.
A new Global Biomass Resource Assessment developed by ORNL scientists gathered data from 55 countries resulting in a first-of-its kind compilation of current and future sustainable biomass supply estimates around the world.
A study led by the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍø details how artificial intelligence researchers created an AI model to help identify new alloys used as shielding for housing fusion applications components in a nuclear reactor. The findings mark a major step towards improving nuclear fusion facilities.
91°µÍø scientists have developed a method leveraging artificial intelligence to accelerate the identification of environmentally friendly solvents for industrial carbon capture, biomass processing, rechargeable batteries and other applications.
When 91°µÍø's science mission takes staff off-campus, the lab’s safety principles follow. That’s true even in the high mountain passes of Washington and Oregon, where ORNL scientists are tracking a tree species — and where wildfires have become more frequent and widespread.
Erin Webb, lead for the Bioresources Science and Engineering group at 91°µÍø, has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers — the society’s highest honor.
John Lagergren, a staff scientist in 91°µÍø’s Plant Systems Biology group, is using his expertise in applied math and machine learning to develop neural networks to quickly analyze the vast amounts of data on plant traits amassed at ORNL’s Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory.
Researchers tackling national security challenges at ORNL are upholding an 80-year legacy of leadership in all things nuclear. Today, they’re developing the next generation of technologies that will help reduce global nuclear risk and enable safe, secure, peaceful use of nuclear materials, worldwide.