News

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers used an invertible neural network, a type of artificial intelligence that mimics the human brain, to select the most suitable materials for desired properties, such as flexibility or heat resistance, with high chemical accuracy. The study could lead to more customizable materials design for industry.

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

April 21, 2022

A study led by researchers at ORNL could help make materials design as customizable as point-and-click.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Scientist Radu Custelcean

Radu Custelcean: Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

April 19, 2022

Radu Custelcean, an organic chemist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is working with colleagues to develop an energy-efficient and sustainable

Using quantum Monte Carlo methods, the researchers simulated bulk VO2. Yellow and turquoise represent changes in electron density between the excited and ground states of a compound composed of oxygen, in red, and vanadium, in blue, which allowed them to evaluate how an oxygen vacancy, in white, can alter the compound’s properties. Credit: Panchapakesan Ganesh/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Artificially altered material could accelerate neuromorphic device development

January 10, 2022

Neuromorphic devices — which emulate the decision-making processes of the human brain — show great promise for solving pressing scientific problems, but building physical systems to realize this potential presents researchers with a significant

Santa Jansone-Popova, left, and Ilja Popovs quantify rare-earth element concentrations in liquid samples using a spectroscopy instrument. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Game-changing rare-earth elements separation technology licensed to Marshallton

November 30, 2021

A new technology for rare-earth elements chemical separation has been licensed to Marshallton Research Laboratories, a North Carolina-based manufacturer of organic chemicals for a range of industries.

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory shed new light on elusive chemical processes at the liquid-liquid interface during solvent extraction of cobalt (dark blue). Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Ultrafast lasers probe elusive chemistry at the liquid-liquid interface

August 4, 2020

Real-time measurements captured by researchers at ORNL provide missing insight into chemical separations to recover cobalt, a critical raw material used to make batteries and magnets for modern technologies.

CellSight allows for rapid mass spectrometry of individual cells. Credit: John Cahill, Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept of Energy

ORNL receives five 2019 R&D 100 Awards

October 30, 2019

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received five 2019 R&D 100 Awards, increasing the lab’s total to 221 since the award’s inception in 1963.

Materials