Lauren Charles, a chief data scientist at PNNL, showcased the vital research coming out of her program at The National Academies Forum workshop in Washington, D.C., January 15–16, 2025.

PNNL’s year in review includes highlights ranging from advancing soil science to understanding Earth systems, expanding electricity transmission, detecting fentanyl, and applying artificial intelligence to aid scientific discovery.

A new analysis shows how renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydropower respond to climate patterns, and how utilities can use this data to save money and invest in energy storage.

Future holiday homecomings could include efficient heat pumps in cold climates and homes designed and built with the environment in mind.

A new digital twin platform can help hydropower dam operators by providing accurate and predictive models of physical turbines that improve facilities and enhance reliability.

Research that modeled increased heat pump adoption alongside climate change impacts in Texas showed that high-efficiency heat pumps buffer the strain that electric heating might put on the power grid.

Scientists are developing ways to detect previously unseen forms of fentanyl as well as other synthetic opioids known as nitazenes.

Secretary Granholm praises heat pump workforce development efforts at this year's instructor training program.

PNNL biodefense experts seek to identify, understand and mitigate the risks of biological pathogens—whether naturally occurring or intentionally created—so steps can be taken to prepare and respond.

PNNL researchers are exploring the kinds of flicker waveforms that the eye and brain can detect, seeking to understand the different visual and non-visual effects that result.

Although climate change may bring increased precipitation to many parts of the United States, some areas may face drier conditions and lower streamflow, resulting in decreased hydropower generation.

PNNL has developed a decision tool that provides contractors and installers with the information they need to properly select and install cold climate heat pumps, which are a key technology for achieving decarbonization.

Scientists have developed a way to detect tiny amounts of hard-to-detect explosives more than eight feet away.

The Heat Pump Water Heater Installation Tool, developed at PNNL, has been released by the Department of Energy for public use.

Researchers will explore climate, pathogens and energy-efficient microelectronics using 3 million node hours on the nation’s supercomputers.

National laboratory expertise was on display at the 2024 Department of Homeland Security Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Summit.

In the latest issue of the Domestic Preparedness Journal, Ashley Bradley and Kristin Omberg share how new research is shedding light on the scientific and technological challenges with detecting fentanyl.

PNNL’s Fatih Evren receives an ASHRAE best paper award for buildings-related research.

Andrew White goes back to his alma mater, Georgia Tech, as young alumni keynote speaker for the Sustainability Showcase, part of the university’s larger Sustainable Development Goals Action & Awareness Week.

Research at PNNL and the University of Texas at El Paso are addressing computational challenges of thinking beyond the list and developing bioagent-agnostic signatures to assess threats.