News

The American Nuclear Society, or ANS, recognized Steven Arndt, a distinguished R&D staff member at Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, during the organization’s annual conference in Las Vegas. 

Xingang Zhao, an R&D associate staff member in the Modern Nuclear I&C group at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was recognized at the 2024 American Nuclear Society Annual Conference with the Ted Quinn Early Career Award. 

A new study conducted on the Frontier supercomputer gave researchers new clues to improving fusion confinement. This research, in collaboration with General Atomics and UC San Diego, uncovered that the interaction between ions and electrons near the tokamak's edge can unexpectedly increase turbulence, challenging previous assumptions about how to optimize plasma confinement for efficient nuclear fusion.

Bill Partridge, a recently retired distinguished researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was recognized by DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office, or VTO, for leading world-class research in transportation throughout his 25-year career. 

Researchers used quantum simulations to obtain new insights into the nature of neutrinos — the mysterious subatomic particles that abound throughout the universe — and their role in the deaths of massive stars.

Leadership Tennessee has named Clarice Phelps to its 2024–2025 Signature Program Class XI to collaborate with professionals statewide to address Tennessee’s most serious issues. 

In May, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Brookhaven national laboratories co-hosted the 15th annual International Particle Accelerator Conference, or IPAC, at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Close on the heels of its fourth summer school, the Quantum Science Center, or QSC, hosted its second in-person all-hands meeting in early May. More than 150 scientists, engineers and support staff traveled from 17 institutions to review the QSC’s progress, examine existing priorities and brainstorm new short- and long-term research endeavors. 

Six firms received Small Business Awards from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The companies, selected from small business service providers to the lab, were recognized by ORNL's Small Business Programs Office for their specific capabilities and contributions. 

Anuj J. Kapadia, who leads the Advanced Computing in Health Sciences Section at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was named a 2024 Fellow by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.