August 19, 2026
6 MIN READ
ORNL and KVA Stainless completed a DOE-funded study validating the performance of welded Grade 91 steel for use in high-temperature energy systems. The results will help KVA refine its advanced welding technology and support the development of durable materials for future fission and fusion reactors.
August 17, 2026
7 MIN READ
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is advancing nuclear battery technology to provide reliable, long-lasting power for remote and extreme environments, from deep space to national security applications. ORNL researchers are exploring new radioisotope fuels, more efficient energy conversion, improved thermal management and advanced manufacturing to make nuclear batteries safer, more efficient and easier to deploy.
August 17, 2026
4 MIN READ
M. Parans Paranthaman was named R&D World’s 2026 Researcher of the Year for turning materials science discoveries into impactful technologies.
August 17, 2026
5 MIN READ
ORNL researchers found that lipid bilayers, the basic structure of cell membranes, can exhibit electrical behaviors associated with learning and memory. The discovery could advance brain-inspired computing technologies and provide new insights into neurological disorders.
August 14, 2026
4 MIN READ
Skuld, Cohort 2023 of Innovation Crossroads, continues to improve upon its manufacturing process with help from ORNL's MDF.
August 14, 2026
4 MIN READ
ORNL and Southern California Edison’s AWARE platform won a bronze 2026 R&D100 Market Disruptor Award for its innovative approach to grid reliability and wildfire prevention. Using AI and advanced waveform analysis, AWARE detects and classifies dangerous grid disturbances—including hard-to-detect electrical arcing—to help utilities respond faster and improve grid resilience.
August 12, 2026
1 MIN READ
Scientific Achievement: Established new family of magnetically tunable, cleavable kagome metals by combining chemical substitution, electron filling, and magnetic properties to develop new intermetallic phases.Significance and Impact: Introduces a new synthetic strategy for stabilizing and tuning complex quantum materials, opening new routes to discover Kagome metals with controllable magnetic and electronic properties.DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6c06163
August 12, 2026
6 MIN READ
ORNL is marking the 80th anniversary of its first public shipment of a reactor-produced radioisotope, a milestone that launched the lab's leadership in isotope research, development and production. Today, ORNL produces and supplies isotopes for medicine, research, industry, national security and space exploration while advancing new capabilities to meet growing demand.
August 11, 2026
5 MIN READ
The Department of Energy has committed funding to establish UNITY-3, a fusion breeding blanket test facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in partnership with Kyoto Fusioneering. The facility will test breeding blanket technologies under fusion-like conditions and support research on tritium fuel production, high-energy neutron science and AI-accelerated digital twins.
August 10, 2026
4 MIN READ
ORNL employees volunteered with Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee to pack 8,000 weekend food bags for children experiencing food insecurity through the Food for Kids program. The event is part of ORNL Gives, the laboratory’s annual employee giving and volunteer campaign, and builds on a partnership with Second Harvest that has supported East Tennessee communities for more than 20 years.
August 10, 2026
4 MIN READ
Researchers at ORNL and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have made a scientific advance by using a natural substance from fungi, called chitin, to create hydrogels that are both significantly stronger and tougher. This new material could lead to safer medical devices, longer-lasting coatings and other innovations that improve everyday technology and health care.
August 10, 2026
8 MIN READ
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has resumed production of W-188/Re-188 generators, which provide the radioactive isotope Re-188 for medical research. Vanderbilt researchers used an updated ORNL generator to test a Re-188-based treatment for prostate cancer in mice, with preliminary results described as promising.