Showing 18 results for Researcher: David J. Weston
May 13, 2025
3 MIN READ
The Biosciences Division conferred its 2025 Distinguished Achievement Awards for excellence in both science and technology and research support areas. The peer-nominated awards were announced by Division Director Jesse Labbé at the organization’s May 13 all-hands meeting.
March 27, 2025
8 MIN READ
Dave Weston studies how microorganisms influence plant health and stress tolerance, using the Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory to accelerate research on plant-microbe interactions and develop resilient crops for advanced fuels, chemicals and
January 9, 2025
3 MIN READ
Nick Sokol founded Algaeo, a company that uses microalgae to produce organic fertilizers, offering a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to synthetic fertilizers. Supported by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Innovation Crossroads program, Sokol is developing this technology to improve soil health, boost plant growth and support small-scale farmers.
December 3, 2024
8 MIN READ
A team of scientists with two Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers — the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory 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.
June 10, 2024
9 MIN READ
When Oak Ridge National Laboratory'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.
May 8, 2024
5 MIN READ
Scientists at ORNL completed a study of how well vegetation survived extreme heat events in both urban and rural communities across the country in recent years. The analysis informs pathways for climate mitigation, including ways to reduce the effect of urban heat islands.
April 8, 2024
8 MIN READ
A first-ever dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released by a team of DOE scientists led by ORNL. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems function, their vulnerability to a changing climate and ultimately how plants might be engineered for better performance as sources of bioenergy and natural carbon storage.
November 28, 2023
5 MIN READ
The first climate scientist to head the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, recently visited two ORNL-led field research facilities in Minnesota and Alaska to witness how these critically important projects are informing our understanding of the future climate and its impact on communities.
October 31, 2023
4 MIN READ
A type of peat moss has surprised scientists with its climate resilience: Sphagnum divinum is actively speciating in response to hot, dry conditions.
May 23, 2023
6 MIN READ
Nature-based solutions are an effective tool to combat climate change triggered by rising carbon emissions, whether it’s by clearing the skies with bio-based aviation fuels or boosting natural carbon sinks.
February 6, 2023
5 MIN READ
A quest to understand how Sphagnum mosses facilitate the storage of vast amounts of carbon in peatlands led scientists to a surprising discovery: the plants have sex-based differences that appear to impact the carbon-storing process.
October 3, 2022
1 MIN READ
A team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Duke University and other institutions studying Sphagnum moss have identified two new species in North America, and they are learning how evolution may affect the species’ role in carbon storage.