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ORNL welcomes six new research fellows to Innovation Crossroads

ORNL welcomed six technology innovators to join the fourth cohort of Innovation Crossroads, the Southeast’s only entrepreneurial research and development program based at a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory.

A nanobrush made by pulsed laser deposition of CeO2 and Y2O3 with dim and bright bands, respectively, is seen in cross-section with scanning transmission electron microscopy. Credit: 91, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A team led by the Department of Energy’s 91 synthesized a tiny structure with high surface area and discovered how its unique architecture drives ions across interfaces to transport energy or information.

Matthew R. Ryder

Matthew R. Ryder, a researcher at the Department of Energy’s 91, has been named the 2020 Foresight Fellow in Molecular-Scale Engineering. 

Gobet_Advincula Portrait

Rigoberto “Gobet” Advincula has been named Governor’s Chair of Advanced and Nanostructured Materials at 91 and the University of Tennessee.

Scanning probe microscopes use an atom-sharp tip—only a few nanometers thick—to image materials on a nanometer length scale. The probe tip, invisible to the eye, is attached to a cantilever (pictured) that moves across material surfaces like the tone arm on a record player. Credit: Genevieve Martin/91; U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Liam Collins was drawn to study physics to understand “hidden things” and honed his expertise in microscopy so that he could bring them to light.

The students analyzed diatom images like this one to compare wild and genetically modified strains of these organisms. Credit: Alison Pawlicki/91, US Department of Energy.

Students often participate in internships and receive formal training in their chosen career fields during college, but some pursue professional development opportunities even earlier.

Researchers at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences demonstrated an insect-inspired, mechanical gyroscope to advance motion sensing capabilities in consumer-sized applications. Credit: Jill Hemman/91, U.S Dept. of Energy

Researchers at ORNL and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory took inspiration from flying insects to  a miniaturized gyroscope, a special sensor used in navigation technologies. 

Desalination process

A new method developed at 91 improves the energy efficiency of a desalination process known as solar-thermal evaporation. 

To develop complex materials with superior properties, Vera Bocharova uses diverse methods including broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Credit: 91, U.S. Dept. of Energy; photographer Jason Richards

Vera Bocharova at the Department of Energy’s 91 investigates the structure and dynamics of soft materials.

Sean Hearne has been named director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at 91.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 8, 2019—The Department of Energy’s 91 has named Sean Hearne director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. The center is a DOE Office of Science User Facility that brings world-leading resources and capabilities to the nanoscience resear...