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ORNL's Communications team works with news media seeking information about the laboratory. Media may use the resources listed below or send questions to news@ornl.gov.

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In disaster’s wake, novel computing techniques support emergency responders

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 3, 2018—As hurricanes barrel toward the coastlines and wildfires rage in arid regions of the United States, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are providing critical geospatial data to support first responders as they work to save lives and property.

ORNL researchers advance quantum computing, science through six DOE awards

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 3, 2018—The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the recipient of six awards from DOE’s Office of Science aimed at accelerating quantum information science (QIS), a burgeoning field of research increasingly seen as vital to scientific innovation and national security.

Brad Rearden

ORNL’s Rearden chosen to head new nuclear data and benchmarking program

October 2, 2018 — In support of industry’s development of advanced reactor designs, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has named Brad Rearden as the national technical director of its new Nuclear Data and Benchmarking Program.

Magnets—Coming around again

October 1, 2018 — Magnets recovered from used computer hard drives found new life in an electric motor in a first-ever demonstration at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Nuclear—Radiation effects

October 1, 2018 — With an organ-on-a-chip technology, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are testing the effects of radiation on cells that mimic human respiration.

Reaching rare earths_v2.png

Computing—Reaching rare earths

October 1, 2018 — Scientists from the Critical Materials Institute used the Titan supercomputer and Eos computing cluster at ORNL to analyze designer molecules that could increase the yield of rare earth elements found in bastnaesite, an important mineral for energy and technology applications.

Tom Karnowski, shown here with the Summit supercomputer, is leading a team of scientists using high performance computing to improve mobility and increase fuel efficiency in an HPC4Mobility project at ORNL.

Supercomputing for better commuting: In pursuit of fuel economy, mobility

September 28, 2018 — In a project leveraging computer vision, machine learning, and sensors, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists are working with private company GRIDSMART Technologies, Inc. to demonstrate how stop lights can be programmed to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions while facilitat

In a thin film of a solar-energy material, molecules in twin domains (modeled in left and right panels) align in opposing orientations within grain boundaries (shown by scanning electron microscopy in the center panel).

Multimodal imaging shows strain can drive chemistry in a photovoltaic material

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Sept. 25, 2018—A unique combination of imaging tools and atomic-level simulations has allowed a team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to solve a longstanding debate about the properties of a promising material that can harvest energy from light.

$Illustration of neutron diffraction data showing water distribution (red and white molecules) near lipid bilayers prior to fusion (left) and during fusion.$

Neutrons produce first direct 3D maps of water during cell membrane fusion

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., September 20, 2018—New 3D maps of water distribution during cellular membrane fusion are accelerating scientific understanding of cell development, which could lead to new treatments for diseases associated with cell fusion.

From left, Radu Custelcean and Neil Williams of Oak Ridge National Laboratory used a solar-powered oven to generate mild temperatures that liberate carbon dioxide trapped in guanidine carbonate crystals in an energy-sustainable way.

Chemists demonstrate sustainable approach to carbon dioxide capture from air

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Sept. 19, 2018—Chemists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a practical, energy-efficient method of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from air.

Jay Jay Billings and Alex McCaskey observe visualizations of ICE simulation data on ORNL’s Exploratory Visualization Environment for Research in Science and Technology facility. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL

ORNL-developed technology streamlines computational science projects

September 14, 2018 — Since designing and launching a specialized workflow management system in 2010, a research team from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has continuously updated the technology to help computational scientists develop software, visualize data and solve problems.

David Green: Teaming up to solve questions in fusion

September 12, 2018 – If you ask the staff and researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory how they were first referred to the lab, you will get an extremely varied list of responses.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Kingdom’s National Nuclear Laboratory to partner on various nuclear research and development efforts.

ORNL, United Kingdom lab partner on nuclear energy research

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Sept. 13, 2018—The United Kingdom’s National Nuclear Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have agreed to cooperate on a wide range of nuclear energy research and development efforts that leverage both organizations’ unique expertise and capabilities.

A molecular dynamics simulation depicts solid (black) and hollow (multicolored) carbon spheres derived from the waste sugar streams of biorefineries. The properties of the hollow spheres are ideal for developing energy storage devices called supercapacito

Synthesis studies transform waste sugar for sustainable energy storage applications

September 6, 2018 — Biorefinery facilities are critical to fueling the economy—converting wood chips, grass clippings, and other biological materials into fuels, heat, power, and chemicals.

Adding powdered silica (in blue container) to the polymer layer (white sheet) that separates electrodes inside a test battery (gold bag) will prevent lithium-ion battery fires. Credit: Gabriel Veith

These lithium-ion batteries can’t catch fire because they harden on impact

September 5, 2018 — Lithium-ion batteries commonly used in consumer electronics are notorious for bursting into flame when damaged or improperly packaged. These incidents occasionally have grave consequences, including burns, house fires and at least one plane crash.

Computing—Quantum in any language

September 4, 2018 - Computer scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an open source software platform that allows quantum programs to run on multiple quantum computers regardless of their unique architecture.

Nanoscience—Directing atoms

September 4, 2018 - An Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led team used a scanning transmission electron microscope to selectively position single atoms below a crystal’s surface for the first time.

Ecology—Unmasking mercury

September 4, 2018 - Biologists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center have confirmed that microorganisms called methanogens can transform mercury into the neurotoxin methylmercury with varying efficiency across species.

ORNL is again hosting a workshop focused on the next generation of molten salt reactors.

Nuclear—Advancing molten salt reactors

September 4, 2018 - Experts focused on the future of nuclear technology will gather at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the fourth annual Molten Salt Reactor Workshop on October 3–4.

Buildings—Inside out

September 4, 2018 - Vacuum insulation technology called modified atmosphere insulation, or MAI, could be a viable solution for improving the energy performance of buildings, based on a study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and industry partners.

After a monolayer MXene is heated, functional groups are removed from both surfaces. Titanium and carbon atoms migrate from one area to both surfaces, creating a pore and forming new structures. Credit: ORNL, USDOE; image by Xiahan Sang and Andy Sproles.

Cannibalistic materials feed on themselves to grow new nanostructures

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 31, 2018—Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory induced a two-dimensional material to cannibalize itself for atomic “building blocks” from which stable structures formed.

Innovation Crossroads fellows at Oak Ridge National Laboratory access world-class research facilities and entrepreneurial guidance to accelerate the transformation of novel ideas into U.S.-based companies.

DOE, TVA partner to support next cohort of energy entrepreneurs for ORNL’s Innovation Crossroads

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 30, 2018 – The next cohort of Innovation Crossroads fellows at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will receive support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

David Kropaczek directs the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, a Department of Energy Innovation Hub headquartered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Kropaczek named director of Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 30, 2018—The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has named David J. Kropaczek its director.

Mathematics can assist cities in addressing unstructured neighborhoods

Mathematics can assist cities in addressing unstructured neighborhoods

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 29, 2018—New mathematical models developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory with collaborators at Sam Houston State University and the University of Chicago can help guide changes to the layout of poor urban neighborhoods to improve access to resources with minimum disruption and cost.

SmartTruck, a small business in Greenville, SC, recently completed its first detailed unsteady analysis using modeling and simulation at the OLCF and became the first company to request certification from the EPA through CFD. Image Credit: SmartTruck

SmartTruck steps up simulations for certification by computation

August 29, 2018 — Long-haul tractor trailers, often referred to as “18-wheelers,” transport everything from household goods to supermarket foodstuffs across the United States every year. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, these trucks moved more than 10 billion tons of goods—70.6 percent of the nation’s total freight shipments—in 2016.

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