Seismic — Feeling it out

An Oak Ridge National Laboratory team developed a novel technique using sensors to monitor seismic and acoustic activity and machine learning to differentiate operational activities at facilities from “noise” in the recorded data.


VA, ORNL and Harvard develop novel method to identify complex medical relationships

A team of researchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has developed a novel, machine learning–based technique to explore and identify relationships among medical concepts using electronic health record data across multiple healthcare providers.


ORNL neural network study harnesses made-to-order design to pair properties to materials

A study led by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could help make materials design as customizable as point-and-click.


Imaging — Lithium light bright

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers demonstrated an electron microscopy technique for imaging lithium in energy storage materials, such as lithium ion batteries, at the atomic scale.

The properties of energy storage materials stem directly from their atomic structures, which are only visible using electron microscopy. Today's advanced electron microscopes are able to image heavy elements at atomic resolution. One challenge is simultaneously observing light elements including lithium, sodium and potassium, which are essential for modern batteries.


Tech transfer — Safer batteries on impact

Several electrolyte and thin-film coating technologies, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have been licensed by BTRY, a battery technology company based in Virginia, to make batteries with increased energy density, at lower cost, and with an improved safety profile in crashes.

The enabling technologies, called Safe Impact Resistant Electrolytes, or SAFIRE, are particularly suitable for application in the electric vehicles and aerospace industries.