It produces more than 2 million billion neutrons each second through an area less than half the size of a dime, providing researchers with the Western world’s highest reactor-based neutron flux. Its neutron scattering stations allow scientists to better understand the structure and dynamics of matte...
Frances H. Arnold is the Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. She is a pioneer of “directed evolution,” which mimics Darwinian evolution in the laboratory to create new biological molecules. Her research is particula...
The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment achieved its first self-sustaining nuclear reaction on June 1, 1965. Three years later, on Oct. 8, 1968, it became the first reactor ever to run on uranium-233.
MSRE was noteworthy in at least three respects. Beside running on U-233 and acting as an economic...
Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers became the first person to drive the first 3-D printed car on September 13, 2014.
Built on site at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago over the previous six days, the vehicle—known as a Strati—demonstrated the ability of a national laboratory to ...
When the Brookings Institution decided to explore how national laboratories should approach economic development, their conversations naturally included Thom Mason and his staff at ORNL.
“Clearly, Oak Ridge is a preeminent innovation and tech development source,” said Mark Muro, senior fellow wit...
1. Arcimoto
ORNL tech: AC-DC inverter, battery system charger and DC-DC inverter combine to make charging, storing and supplying electricity more efficient.
Product: Arcimoto 3-wheel electric vehicle (in development)
2. PerkinElmer
ORNL tech: Microfluidic Lab-on-a-chip
Product: La...
Not all of ORNL’s commercial partners are in East Tennessee, and not all work in carbon fiber or additive manufacturing. Each year, ORNL researchers identify around 200 inventions and discoveries they believe have commercial application—from sophisticated sensors to data analysis tools to advances i...