Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Earth Sciences (1)
- (-) Fusion and Fission (32)
- Advanced Manufacturing (5)
- Biological Systems (1)
- Biology and Environment (102)
- Biology and Soft Matter (4)
- Building Technologies (2)
- Chemical and Engineering Materials (3)
- Chemistry and Physics at Interfaces (7)
- Clean Energy (168)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (7)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Chemistry (5)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Computer Science (3)
- Data (1)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (1)
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (7)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (2)
- Functional Materials for Energy (8)
- Fusion Energy (7)
- Geographic Information Science and Technology (1)
- Isotopes (21)
- Materials (122)
- Materials for Computing (13)
- Materials Synthesis from Atoms to Systems (8)
- Materials Under Extremes (7)
- National Security (45)
- Neutron Data Analysis and Visualization (2)
- Neutron Science (72)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (27)
- Quantum Condensed Matter (3)
- Quantum information Science (4)
- Renewable Energy (2)
- Sensors and Controls (2)
- Supercomputing (153)
- Transportation Systems (4)
News Topics
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (3)
- Advanced Reactors (2)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Bioenergy (1)
- Buildings (1)
- Chemical Sciences (2)
- Composites (1)
- Computer Science (1)
- Decarbonization (1)
- Energy Storage (2)
- Environment (2)
- Exascale Computing (1)
- Frontier (1)
- Fusion (12)
- Grid (1)
- High-Performance Computing (2)
- ITER (2)
- Net Zero (1)
- Nuclear Energy (17)
- Partnerships (1)
- Physics (1)
- Security (1)
- Simulation (2)
- Sustainable Energy (3)
- Transportation (1)
Media Contacts
![AIRES 4 attendees hailing from seven national laboratories and from academia met to discuss robust engineering for digital twins. Credit: Pradeep Ramuhalli/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/aires_attendees_0.jpg?h=9fc2b970&itok=20wrmyuA)
ORNL hosted its fourth Artificial Intelligence for Robust Engineering and Science, or AIRES, workshop from April 18-20. Over 100 attendees from government, academia and industry convened to identify research challenges and investment areas, carving the future of the discipline.
![Steven Hamilton. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/2023-P00166_0.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=F72Nuwo2)
As renewable sources of energy such as wind and sun power are being increasingly added to the country’s electrical grid, old-fashioned nuclear energy is also being primed for a resurgence.
![Phil Snyder](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-04/snyder.png?h=17c3cd98&itok=1HuorVwS)
When virtually unlimited energy from fusion becomes a reality on Earth, Phil Snyder and his team will have had a hand in making it happen.
![ORNL engineer Ahmed Elatar explained his profession to students in Jessica Everitt’s 2nd grade class at Hardin Valley Elementary School in Knoxville, Tennessee, during Engineers Week. Credit: Jessica Everitt](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-03/Picture1.jpg?h=10cc56cf&itok=xS5LgH5E)
Nine engineers from ORNL visited 10 elementary and middle school classrooms in three school districts during National Engineers Week, Feb. 21 to 24, 2023, describing and demonstrating the excitement of the engineering profession to more than 300 Tennessee students.
![The Facility to Alleviate Salt Technology Risks, or FASTR, system will help scientists research the next generation of concentrated solar power. Credit: Kevin Robb/ORNL](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-02/FASTR%20-%20System%20-%20Visual%2020221010_140008.jpg?h=7a74722a&itok=V1sUKXsT)
Scientists at ORNL have begun operating a unique system designed to enable a variety of testing to characterize the performance of an advanced heat transfer fluid for renewable energy
![ORNL fusion technology scientist Tim Bigelow, right, stands near the control console in ORNL’s fusion control room with Matt Houde of Quaise Energy. Their partnership aims to tackle technical challenges with the Millimeter Wave Drilling System that Quaise has developed. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/fusion-thumb.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=QDFJEG_G)
Researchers in the geothermal energy industry are joining forces with fusion experts at ORNL to repurpose gyrotron technology, a tool used in fusion. Gyrotrons produce high-powered microwaves to heat up fusion plasmas.
![ORNL physicist Libby Johnson demonstrated a new control panel at ORNL’s Bulk Shielding Facility in 1957. Among the first females to operate a nuclear reactor, Johnson blazed trails for women. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/Johnson_1.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=JUg5qoxV)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory physicist Elizabeth “Libby” Johnson (1921-1996), one of the world’s first nuclear reactor operators, standardized the field of criticality safety with peers from ORNL and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
![ORNL’s Bruce Pint, left, and Marie Romedenne review experiment results. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/Fusion_Picture2_0.png?h=1758acef&itok=gnrd0IJV)
Practical fusion energy is not just a dream at ORNL. Experts in fusion and material science are working together to develop solutions that will make a fusion pilot plant — and ultimately carbon-free, abundant fusion electricity — possible.
![Friederike (Rike) Bostelmann is a nuclear data and reactor physics analyst at Oak Ridge National Laboratory working to advance new technology for nuclear power reactors as a clean energy source for electricity generation. Credit: ORNL, Carlos Jones](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/rike-bostelmann.jpg?h=6240deeb&itok=Z4YUp_W7)
Friederike (Rike) Bostelmann, who began her career in Germany, chose to come to ORNL to become part of the Lab’s efforts to shape the future of nuclear energy.
![A team of fusion scientists and engineers stand in front of ORNL’s Helium Flow Loop device. From back left to front right: Chris Crawford, Fayaz Rasheed, Joy Fan, Michael Morrow, Charles Kessel, Adam Carroll, and Cody Wiggins. Not pictured: Dennis Youchison and Monica Gehrig. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/2022-P01898.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=SoSOip2u)
To achieve practical energy from fusion, extreme heat from the fusion system “blanket” component must be extracted safely and efficiently. ORNL fusion experts are exploring how tiny 3D-printed obstacles placed inside the narrow pipes of a custom-made cooling system could be a solution for removing heat from the blanket.