Recent News Releases

ORNL's Office of Communications and External Relations works with national, regional, and local media outlets on news stories about the laboratory.

For more information on ORNL and its research and development activities, please refer to one of our Media Contacts. If you have a general media-related question or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov.

ORNL, Los Alamos pioneer new approach to assist scientists, farmers OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 19, 2009 — Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories.
ORNL, partners helping scientists deal with data deluge OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 18, 2009 — Vast amounts of information that could hold the key to breakthroughs in environmental research will be made readily available through a network created by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and partners.
UT's Kraken Named World's Third Most Powerful Computer, ORNL's Jaguar No. 1 OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 16, 2009 — KNOXVILLE - East Tennessee is now home to two of the world's three fastest computers, according to new rankings released today.
NSF Dedicates Athena Supercomputer to Climate Research OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 16, 2009 — OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 16, 2009 --Thanks to the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute for Computational Sciences's (NICS's) Athena supercomputer is hosting one of the largest climate simulations in history.
Oak Ridge 'Jaguar' Supercomputer is World's Fastest    OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 16, 2009 — An upgrade to a Cray XT5 high-performance computing system deployed by the Department of Energy has made the "Jaguar" supercomputer the world's fastest. Located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Jaguar is the scientific research community's most powerful computational tool for exploring solutions to some of today's most difficult problems. The upgrade, funded with $19.9 million under the Recovery Act, will enable scientific simulations for exploring solutions to climate change and the development of new energy technologies.
Microbiologist and Environmental Engineer Loeffler Named Sixth UT-ORNL Governor's Chair OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 9, 2009 — Frank Loeffler, a leading expert in environmental microbiology and the use of bacteria to clean and protect environmental resources, has been named the sixth University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chair.
Cole garners ORNL's top individual award in science for 2009 OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 6, 2009 — David Cole, a group leader in the Chemical Sciences Division of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has earned the UT-Battelle Director's Award for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology.
ORNL wins Tennessee award for saving water, helping environment    OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 29, 2009 — Activities that are saving water and helping the environment have earned UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, honors from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Scientists Develop New Method to Quantify Climate Modeling Uncertainty OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 21, 2009 — Climate scientists recognize that climate modeling projections include a significant level of uncertainty. A team of researchers using computing facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has identified a new method for quantifying this uncertainty.
ORNL, Da Vinci sign licensing agreement     OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 20, 2009 — An Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology for analyzing automotive engine oil has been licensed to a Texas firm that specializes in a broad suite of combustion engine lubrication and emissions testing services and equipment.
Suzanne Herron named deputy project director at U.S. ITER OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 16, 2009 — Suzanne A. Herron has been appointed deputy project director for the U.S. ITER Project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She previously was senior manager for Project Controls for U.S. ITER.
Key new ingredient in climate model refines global predictions OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 9, 2009 — For the first time, climate scientists from across the country have successfully incorporated the nitrogen cycle into global simulations for climate change, questioning previous assumptions regarding carbon feedback and potentially helping to refine model forecasts about global warming.
Former ORNL researcher wins Nobel Prize OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2009 — One of the winners of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry spent the early part of his career at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
ORNL hosts fourth annual Global Venture Challenge OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2009 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory will host the fourth annual Global Venture Challenge on March 24-26, 2010.
U.S. ITER awards contracts worth $33 million for materials for ITER's largest magnets OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2009 — The U.S. ITER Project Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has awarded two contracts totaling $33.6 million for 8,270 km of niobium tin strand and 4,795 km of copper strand for the Toroidal Field Conductor, a major component of U.S. contributions to the ITER Project. ITER's Toroidal Field Magnets will fill the plasma volume (~1000 cubic meters) with a magnetic field roughly 100,000 times the Earth's magnetic field.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has sharp increase in visitors OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 2, 2009 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided tours of the laboratory for more than 5,000 visitors in 2009, an increase of nearly 50 percent over the previous year. The number of visitors to the laboratory was the largest since the world's fair in 1982.
UT Knoxville and ORNL Researchers Reveal Key To How Bacteria Clear Mercury Pollution Knoxville, Tenn, Oct. 1, 2009 — Mercury pollution is a persistent problem in the environment. Human activity has lead to increasingly large accumulations of the toxic chemical, especially in waterways, where fish and shellfish tend to act as sponges for the heavy metal.
Spallation Neutron Source first of its kind to reach megawatt power    OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Sep. 28, 2009 — The Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), already the world's most powerful facility for pulsed neutron scattering science, is now the first pulsed spallation neutron source to break the one-megawatt barrier.