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Media Contacts
![Plutonium oxide is loaded onto a truck for shipping. Adam Parkison/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/PXL_20230620_120836896_0.jpg?h=2848f5af&itok=Nh31DLuy)
In June, ORNL hit a milestone not seen in more than three decades: producing a production-quality amount of plutonium-238
![The DEMAND single crystal diffractometer at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR, is the latest neutron instrument at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to be equipped with machine learning-assisted software, called ReTIA. Credit: Jeremy Rumsey/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/DEMAND%20thumbnail%20image_0.jpg?h=c673cd1c&itok=5YAVwaP6)
Neutron experiments can take days to complete, requiring researchers to work long shifts to monitor progress and make necessary adjustments. But thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, experiments can now be done remotely and in half the time.
![ORNL seismic researcher Chengping Chai placed seismic sensors on the ground at various distances from an ORNL nuclear reactor to learn whether they could detect its operating state. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P03398.jpg?h=3e43625b&itok=TXK8tthh)
Like most scientists, Chengping Chai is not content with the surface of things: He wants to probe beyond to learn what’s really going on. But in his case, he is literally building a map of the world beneath, using seismic and acoustic data that reveal when and where the earth moves.
![The Fuel Pellet Fueling Laboratory at ORNL is part of a suite of fusion energy R&D capabilities and provides test equipment and related diagnostics for carrying out experiments to develop pellet injectors for plasma fueling applications. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2021-P02876_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=8fqWlX5k)
ORNL will team up with six of eight companies that are advancing designs and research and development for fusion power plants with the mission to achieve a pilot-scale demonstration of fusion within a decade.
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory led a team of scientists to design a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and future virus outbreaks. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-03/Picture1_0.png?h=d55ce37e&itok=Q2qLUWnE)
A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.
![ORNL’s award-winning ultraclean condensing high-efficiency natural gas furnace features an affordable add-on technology that can remove more than 99.9% of acidic gases and other emissions. The technology can also be added to other natural gas-driven equipment. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-02/furnace_thumb.png?h=4de03b89&itok=reXZ-C6r)
Natural gas furnaces not only heat your home, they also produce a lot of pollution. Even modern high-efficiency condensing furnaces produce significant amounts of corrosive acidic condensation and unhealthy levels of nitrogen oxides
![Jason Gardner, Sandra Davern and Peter Thornton have been elected fellows of AAAS. Credit: Laddy Fields/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-02/AAAS_2022%20Thumbnail_0.png?h=b6717701&itok=4TftuioC)
Three scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS.
![Illustration of the optimized zeolite catalyst, or NbAlS-1, which enables a highly efficient chemical reaction to create butene, a renewable source of energy, without expending high amounts of energy for the conversion. Credit: Jill Hemman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-12/19-G01458_Cheng_PR.png?h=14829302&itok=U1YwTrlo)
Illustration of the optimized zeolite catalyst, or NbAlS-1, which enables a highly efficient chemical reaction to create butene, a renewable source of energy, without expending high amounts of energy for the conversion. Credit: Jill Hemman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy
![Catherine Schuman during Hour of Code](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-12/IMG_0136_0.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=56CtnbAH)
ORNL computer scientist Catherine Schuman returned to her alma mater, Harriman High School, to lead Hour of Code activities and talk to students about her job as a researcher.
![Argon pellet injection text](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/13966_Ar_20degree_enhanced_0.jpg?h=8450e950&itok=tmff0GX_)
As scientists study approaches to best sustain a fusion reactor, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory investigated injecting shattered argon pellets into a super-hot plasma, when needed, to protect the reactor’s interior wall from high-energy runaway electrons.