Skip to main content
Beneficial microbes, shown in red, aid Sphagnum mosses in using nitrogen from the air to fuel plant growth. ORNL scientists have shown this nitrogen fixing activity declines with warming temperatures. Credit: David Weston/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A team of scientists found that critical interactions between microbes and peat moss break down under warming temperatures, impacting moss health and ultimately carbon stored in soil.

Shown here is a computer-aided design of the hot stamping die with visible cooling channels. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers demonstrated that an additively manufactured hot stamping die can withstand up to 25,000 usage cycles, proving that this technique is a viable solution for production.

Elizabeth Herndon takes a soil sample at a field site outside Abisko, Sweden in July 2019.

Elizabeth Herndon believes in going the distance whether she is preparing to compete in the 2020 Olympic marathon trials or examining how metals move through the environment as a geochemist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Jason Nattress, an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow, is developing new nuclear material inspection and identification techniques to improve scanning times for ocean-going cargo containers.

Jason Nattress, an Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, found his calling on a nuclear submarine.

Buildings—Reaching the boiling point

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory demonstrated that metal foam enhances the evaporation process in thermal conversion systems and enables the development of compact HVAC&R units.

Tech transfer—Showcasing innovation

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will present eight innovative technologies currently available for commercialization during a public event at ORNL on October 17.

Fusion—Heating the core

In a recent study, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory performed experiments in a prototype fusion reactor materials testing facility to develop a method that uses microwaves to raise the plasma’s temperature closer to the extreme values

Neutrons—Insight into human tissue

Researchers used neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor to better understand how certain cells in human tissue bond together.

Gaute Hagen uses ORNL’s Summit supercomputer to model scientifically interesting atomic nuclei.

At the nexus of theory and computation, physicist Gaute Hagen of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory runs advanced models on powerful supercomputers to explore how protons and neutrons interact to “build” an atomic nucleus from

Christa Brelsford's dissertation research marked the first-ever comprehensive analysis of the water-conserving effects of one of the most widely used water conservation programs in the western United States.

Christa Brelsford, a Liane B. Russell Fellow at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, decided as a teenager growing up in rural Alaska to use her empirical mind and math and science skills to do good in the world.