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NCCS Director Arjun Shankar gives an update on the facility’s next high-performance computing system during the OLCF User Meeting on Sept. 10, 2024.   Credit: Kurt Weiss/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility welcomed users to an interactive meeting at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory from Sept. 10–11 for an opportunity to share achievements from the OLCF’s user programs and highlight requirements for the future.

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After retiring from Y-12, Scott Abston joined the Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate to support isotope production and work with his former manager. He now leads a team maintaining critical equipment for medical and space applications. Abston finds fulfillment in mentoring his team and is pleased with his decision to continue working.

ORNL’s convergent manufacturing platform, on display at IMTS 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, integrates multiple systems into one.

A new convergent manufacturing platform, developed in only five months at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is debuting at the International Manufacturing Technology Show, or IMTS, in Chicago, Sept. 9–12, 2024.

ORNL scientists used molecular dynamics simulations, exascale computing, lab testing and analysis to accelerate the development of an energy-saving method to produce nanocellulosic fibers.

A team led by scientists at ORNL identified and demonstrated a method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%, using simulations on the lab’s supercomputers and follow-on analysis.

Jay Tiley inspects a hydroelectric runner from TVA’s Cherokee Dam

ORNL is working with industry partners to develop a technique that combines 3D printing and conventional machining to produce large metal parts for clean energy applications. The project, known as Rapid Research on Universal Near Net Shape Fabrication Strategies for Expedited Runner Systems, or Rapid RUNNERS, recently received $15 million in funding from DOE. 

Illustration of oscillating UCI3 bonds

Researchers for the first time documented the specific chemistry dynamics and structure of high-temperature liquid uranium trichloride salt, a potential nuclear fuel source for next-generation reactors. 

The Frontier supercomputer simulated magnetic responses inside calcium-48, depicted by red and blue spheres. Insights into the nucleus’s fundamental forces could shed light on supernova dynamics.

Nuclear physicists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently used Frontier, the world’s most powerful supercomputer, to calculate the magnetic properties of calcium-48’s atomic nucleus. 

Joshua New

ORNL’s Joshua New was named the 2024 Researcher of the Year by R&D World magazine as part of its R&D 100 Professional Award winners. 

Jeremiah Sewell

Jeremiah Sewell leads a team at ORNL, working on xenon-129 production for lung imaging. Reflecting on his career, Sewell views each opportunity as a "door" he steps through, leveraging over 25 years of experience in nuclear power and centrifuge operations to advance the facility’s mission.

Beach to show impact of a hurricane

A study found that beaches with manmade fortifications recover more slowly from hurricanes than natural beaches, losing more sand and vegetation. The researchers used satellite images and light detection and ranging data, or LIDAR, to measure elevation changes and vegetation coverage. Changes in elevation showed how much sand was depleted during the storm and how much sand returned throughout the following year.