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Procter & Gamble scientists used ORNL’s Summit supercomputer to create a digital model of the corneal epithelium, the primary outer layer of cells covering the human eye, and test that model against a series of cleaning compounds in search of a gentler, more environmentally sustainable formula.

P&G is using simulations on the ORNL Summit supercomputer to study how surfactants in cleaners cause eye irritation. By modeling the corneal epithelium, P&G aims to develop safer, concentrated cleaning products that meet performance and safety standards while supporting sustainability goals.

Researcher in a blue coat and glasses, purple gloves and white baseball gat pulls out materials from a metal canister

ORNL researchers created and tested two methods for transforming coal into the scarce mineral graphite, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles. 

Four scientists are standing in a field next to a data-gathering tool robot

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍø recently demonstrated an autonomous robotic field monitoring, sampling and data-gathering system that could accelerate understanding of interactions among plants, soil and the environment.

A graphical representation about a gene in a poplar tree. There is a close up of a tree to the right and the far left-top corner. There is a strand of DNA going down the middle of the image with an ant and two small circles showing the organisms inside the DNA

A team of scientists with two Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers — the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at 91°µÍø and the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — identified a gene in a poplar tree that enhances photosynthesis and can boost tree height by about 30% in the field and by as much as 200% in the greenhouse. 

microscopic ctherm biomass

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.

Pictured here is the The S-adenosylmethionine molecule

Researchers have identified a molecule essential for the microbial conversion of inorganic mercury into the neurotoxin methylmercury, moving closer to blocking the dangerous pollutant before it forms. 

Members of the target design team pose next to the 2.0-megawatt-capable mercury flow target they developed.

The Proton Power Upgrade project at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source has achieved its final key performance parameter of 1,250 hours of neutron production at 1.7 megawatts of proton beam power on a newly developed target. 

Pictured is a 3D printed roosting structure for bats.

91°µÍø researchers are using a new bioderived material to 3D print custom roosting structures for endangered bats.

Pictured is the IMAGINE instrument at the High Flux Isotope Reactor

Biochemist David Baker — just announced as a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry — turned to the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at 91°µÍø for information he couldn’t get anywhere else. HFIR is the strongest reactor-based neutron source in the United States.  

Larry York is sitting in front of a computer screen showing an image of plant phenotyping

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.