• World-class science takes on the COVID-19 pandemic

    Video: In the fight

    ORNL researchers are applying expertise in computational science, advanced manufacturing, data science and neutron science to combat COVID-19.
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  • Researchers from West Virginia University used VULCAN at the Spallation Neutron Source to study materials called high-entropy oxides to develop industrial and consumer-based applications for improved energy storage and conversion. Photographed in December, 2019. Team members include (left) Wei Li, Yi Wang, Wenyuan Li, Hanchen Tian, and Zhipeng Zeng. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL

    More efficient power production

    West Virginia researchers use neutrons to study materials for power plant improvements
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  • Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are advancing gas membrane materials to expand practical technology options for reducing industrial carbon emissions. Results published in Chem demonstrate a fabrication method for membrane materials that can overcome current bottlenecks in selectivity and permeability, key variables that drive carbon-capturing performance in real environments.

    Removing CO2

    Carbon-loving filter materials are designed to reduce industrial emissions
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  • ORNL’s Bianca Haberl and Amy Elliott examine a 3D-printed collimator — an invention that has been licensed to ExOne, a leading binder jet 3D printer company. Credit: Genevieve Martin/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

    High-quality, lower cost

    ExOne licenses ORNL method to 3D print components for refined neutron scattering
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  • Overlapping X-ray data of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease shows structural differences between the protein at room temperature (orange) and the cryogenically frozen structure (white). Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

    Targeting COVID-19

    X-rays size up the protein structure at the ‘heart’ of the COVID-19 virus
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  • Boris Khaykovich, an experimental physicist from MIT, prepares to probe his chloride-based salt solutions with the NOMAD instrument at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. His experiments will provide predictive models nuclear engineers can use to design salt solutions for molten salt reactors. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL

    Molten salt solutions

    Understanding how salt solutions behave in nuclear environments may give scientists insights into generating safe and efficient nuclear energy
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  • Postdoctoral researcher Daniel Kneller is using ORNL’s Center for Structural and Molecular Biology to synthesize crystallized proteins related to COVID-19 and prepare them for neutron scattering studies at the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux Isotope Reactor. Credit:Carlos Jones/ORNL

    Drawing inspiration from the past

    A history of insightful HIV research inspires a neutron scattering approach to studying COVID-19
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  • 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: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

    Crystalline ‘nanobrush’

    Structure clears the way to advanced energy and information technology
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  • ORNL scientists are currently using Proto-MPEX to perform necessary research and development that is needed to build MPEX. Credit: Genevieve Martin/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

    Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX)

    Temperatures hotter than the center of the sun. Magnetic fields hundreds of thousands of times stronger than the earth’s.
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  • VENUS will look into materials made of heavy elements—such as engine blocks and turbine blades—to learn about their structure and behavior on an atomic scale

    Peering deeply into materials

    VENUS will look into materials made of heavy elements—such as engine blocks and turbine blades—to learn about their structure and behavior on an atomic scale
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About Us

We apply expertise in advanced materials, supercomputing, neutrons, and nuclear science to national priorities in energy, security, and scientific discovery

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HELLO HFIR 👋: This test reactor at @ORNL is one of the nation's top facilities for making medical and industrial-grade isotopes. ⤵️
HELLO HFIR 👋: This test reactor at @ORNL is one of the nation's top facilities for making medical and industrial-grade isotopes. ⤵️
When America calls ... ORNL answers. #NatLabsInTheFight
When America calls ... ORNL answers. #NatLabsInTheFight
A simple process for "two-faced" #nanomaterials may aid energy and information technology. https://bit.ly/2YyMFo4
A simple process for "two-faced" #nanomaterials may aid energy and information technology. https://bit.ly/2YyMFo4

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Michelle Buchanan
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649
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