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Under Secretary of Energy
Mark Menezes engages with ORNL researchers, leadership
Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes visited the Oak Ridge DOE facilities in March, including an informative engagement at ORNL during which he discussed operations in detail and received firsthand insight into the lab's work and strategic priorities. He participated in multiple presentations focused on EESD research, ranging from bioscience to manufacturing, grid security and resilience, transportation, environmental science, buildings, and national security--gaining unique understanding of the lab's capabilities and expertise as he connected with leadership and key scientists and engineers across the lab complex. Thank you to everyone who supported this successful engagement with a top DOE official.
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Director's Message
April 10, 2018 | The recent signing of the memorandum of understanding for fossil energy-focused research with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) presents an exciting opportunity for ORNL to leverage its expertise in materials science and manufacturing, high-performance computing, energy infrastructure and cybersecurity, and other science areas to meet the challenge of efficient development of our domestic energy resources.
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I'm looking forward to seeing ORNL's scientists and engineers partner with colleagues at NETL to address key issues such as materials for extreme environments, from power generation to conversion, storage, and energy transmission; development of advanced, resilient, and cybersecure power grids and microgrids; reducing water usage in energy production; advanced manufacturing for fossil energy; and aiding workforce and economic development programs in Appalachia.
This is a critical time for accelerating our strategic efforts. In the final 2018 budget bill passed last month, DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs will receive up to a 15% increase for FY2018, while funding for the Office of Science will rise as much as 16%, and the budget for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy will increase up to 15%. The budget also includes an $18 million increase for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, more than $100 million targeted for electrical grid and energy infrastructure cybersecurity, and an increase of nearly $110 million for the Office of Fossil Energy.
Congratulations to the the students and teachers at Robertsville Middle School for winning a spot in NASA's Cube Satellite Launch Initiative to send a student-designed nanosatellite, RamSat, into space. Several ORNL staff have been volunteering time to advise the students, including Peter Thornton, Michele Thornton, Melissa Allen, Katie Corcoran, Ralph Dinwiddie, Nathan Phillip, and Humaira Taz.
EESD staff continue to be recognized by professional societies for their science and engineering achievements. ASHRAE recently presented several honors to staff: Van Baxter received the Andrew T. Boggs Service Award; Joshua New received a Distinguished Service Award; and Som Shrestha received a Technical Paper Award. IEEE also recently elevated Omer Onar to Senior Member of the organization for significant contributions to the profession. Melanie Mayes was elected to the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory's User Executive Committee through a competitive voting process involving all EMSL lab users. Suresh Babu received an award for Excellence in Reviewing from the Scripta Materialia journal. Congratulations to all of our staff honorees.
Safety depends on each of us to be alert and aware at all times. As we transition from winter to spring and spend more time outdoors, please be mindful of best safety practices at the lab, on the road, and at home.—Moe
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Implications of emerging vehicle technologies on rare earth supply and demand in the United States Read more
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Study predicts declining marine biological productivity Read more
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Evaluating biomass crop harvest, collection, and transport Read more
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Defects and 3D structural inhomogeneity in electron beam additively manufactured Inconel 718 | Andrew T.Polonsky, McLean P.Echlin, William C.Lenthe, Ryan R.Dehoff, Michael M.Kirka, Tresa M.Pollock, Materials Characterization, 17 February 2018. Read more
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Novel climates reverse carbon uptake of atmospherically dependent epiphytes: Climatic constraints on the iconic boreal forest lichen Evernia mesomorpha | Robert J. Smith, Peter R. Nelson, Sarah Jovan, Paul J. Hanson, Bruce McCune, American Journal of Botany. 26 February 2018. Read more
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A scalable multi-process model of root nitrogen uptake | Anthony P. Walker, New Phytologist, 28 February 2018. Read more
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Utilization of optical sensors for phasor measument units | Wenxuan Yao, David Wells, Daniel King, Andrew Herron, Thomas King, Yilu Liu, Electric Power Systems Research, March 2018. Read more
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What makes lithium substituted polyacrylic acid a better binder than polyacrylic acid for silicon-graphite composite anodes? | Kevin A.Hays, Rose E. Ruther, Alexander J. Kukay,Pengfei Cao, Tomonori Saito, David L.Wood III, Jianlin Li, Journal of Power Sources, 4 March 2018. Read more
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Rationalization of solidification mechanism of Nd-Fe-B magnets during laser directed-energy deposition | Niyanth Sridharan, Ercan Cakmak, Fred A. List, Huseyin Ucar, Steve Constantinides, S.S. Babu, S.K. McCall, and M. Parans Paranthaman, Journal of Materials Science, 7 March 2018. Read more
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Temperature and strain rate dependent behavior of polymer separator for Li-ion batteries | Sergiy Kalnaus, Yanli Wang, Jianlin Li, Abhishek Kumar, John A.Turner, Extreme Mechanics Letters, 7 March 2018. Read more
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Insights into the evolution of host association through the isolation and characterization of a novel human periodontal pathobiont, Desulfobulbus oralis | Cross KL, Chirania P, Xiong W, Beall CJ, Elkins JG, Giannone RJ, Griffen AL, Guss AM, Hettich RL, Joshi SS, Mokrzan EM, Martin RK, Zhulin IB, Leys EJ, Podar M, mBio, American Society for Microbiology, 13 March 2018 .
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Microbial community structure with trends in methylation gene diversity and abundance in mercury-contaminated rice paddy soils in Guizhou, China | Vishnivetskaya TA, Hu H, Van Nostrand JD, Wymore AM, Xu X, Qiu G, Feng X, Zhou J, Brown SD, Brandt CC, Podar M, Gu B, Elias DA,, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 21 March 2018. Read more
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Design of low-inductance switching power cell for GaN HEMT based inverter | Emre Gurpinar, Francesco Iannuzzo, et al, IEEE Transactions on Industry, March/April 2018. Read more
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ECOLOGY: Better mercury predictions
Analyses of creek algae informed a new model that can more accurately predict the presence of the neurotoxin methylmercury in small headwater ecosystems. The newly developed model, described in Environmental Science & Technology, could be applied to other water systems to predict methylmercury production. Read more
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ENGINES: Fueling innovation
Gasoline-powered automobiles could achieve an 8 percent or greater fuel efficiency gain through a new combustion strategy developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Scientists have demonstrated a new method for reforming fuel over a catalyst, a process that chemically converts fuel into a hydrogen-rich blend. This blend allows more work to be extracted from the engine cylinders, increasing efficiency and saving fuel. Read more
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NEUTRONS: Antibacterial breakdown
New insights into certain catalytic enzymes formed by bacteria to break down antibiotics may lead to the design of drugs better equipped to combat resistant bacteria. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutron crystallography at the lab’s Spallation Neutron Source to study the interaction between one of these enzymes, called a beta-lactamase, and an antibiotic, building on data collected with x-ray crystallography. Read more
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Knoxville News-Sentinel
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Natural Gas Intelligence
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Vincent Paquit: Analytics for better parts
Leveraging his expertise in image processing, sensors, and machine learning, Vincent Paquit is devising a control system for additive manufacturing to produce 3D-printed parts that function as well as conventionally produced objects. Read more
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Amy Moore: Delivering the smart mobility goods
Amy Moore has found that her pursuit of several degrees and certificates in a variety of subjects is serving her well as she uses her expertise in transportation planning, geographic information science, and information technology to develop intelligent mobility solutions at ORNL. Read more
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Omer Onar elevated to Senior Member of IEEE.
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Van Baxter received the Andrew T. Boggs Service Award from ASHRAE.
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Joshua New received a Distinguished Service Award from ASHRAE.
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Som Shrestha received an ASHRAE award for his paper, "Evaluation of alternative refrigerants for mini-split air conditioners."
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Orlando Rios and Zachary Sims (L-R), received an award from The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society for their paper, "Cerium-based, intermetallic-strengthened aluminum casting alloy: High volume co-product development."
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Melanie Mayes was elected to the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory's User Executive Committee.
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Suresh Babu received the Scripta Materialia 2017 Award for Excellence in Reviewing in recognition of his significant contributions made to the quality of the journal.
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Students at Oak Ridge's Robertsville Middle School recently won a satellite design competition as part of NASA's Cube Satellite Launch Initiative. Several researchers from ORNL are supporting the program. Read more
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Students had an opportunity to "Get into Green" at the EESD Science Fair trailer during the Eastman 8th-Grade Career Expo in Kingsport, Tennessee.
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