Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Materials (23)
- Biology and Environment (10)
- Clean Energy (25)
- Computer Science (1)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Fusion and Fission (2)
- Fusion Energy (4)
- Isotopes (1)
- Materials for Computing (4)
- National Security (10)
- Neutron Science (15)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (7)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Supercomputing (30)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (1)
- (-) Computer Science (5)
- (-) Energy Storage (5)
- (-) Exascale Computing (1)
- (-) Materials Science (17)
- (-) Neutron Science (4)
- (-) Polymers (3)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (5)
- Artificial Intelligence (2)
- Big Data (2)
- Bioenergy (2)
- Biomedical (2)
- Chemical Sciences (2)
- Clean Water (1)
- Composites (2)
- Coronavirus (2)
- Critical Materials (2)
- Cybersecurity (1)
- Decarbonization (1)
- Environment (2)
- High-Performance Computing (1)
- Isotopes (2)
- Machine Learning (2)
- Materials (12)
- Mathematics (1)
- Microscopy (5)
- Nanotechnology (6)
- Nuclear Energy (3)
- Physics (5)
- Quantum Science (1)
- Security (1)
- Summit (1)
- Sustainable Energy (1)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (2)
- Transportation (2)
Media Contacts
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory materials scientist Zhili Feng, left, looks on as senior technician Doug Kyle operates a welding robot inside a robotic welding cell. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-12/2022-P02510.png?h=73ad5f11&itok=fvydYheR)
The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense teamed up to create a series of weld filler materials that could dramatically improve high-strength steel repair in vehicles, bridges and pipelines.
![When an electron beam drills holes in heated graphene, single-atom vacancies, shown in purple, diffuse until they join with other vacancies to form stationary structures and chains, shown in blue. Credit: Ondrej Dyck/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-12/variation.jpg?h=bedff801&itok=9S6jmOVH)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers serendipitously discovered when they automated the beam of an electron microscope to precisely drill holes in the atomically thin lattice of graphene, the drilled holes closed up.
![Researchers at ORNL designed a recyclable carbon fiber material to promote low-carbon manufacturing. Credit: Chad Malone/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-11/22-G02592_TomonoriSaito_CellReportsPysicalScienceCoverDesign_1mu.png?h=707772c7&itok=f9yiwb6p)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists designed a recyclable polymer for carbon-fiber composites to enable circular manufacturing of parts that boost energy efficiency in automotive, wind power and aerospace applications.
![This diagram demonstrates how a concentrating solar thermal plant could use molten salts to store solar energy that could later be used to generate electricity. Credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/2022-G02085_Mcfarlane_ReducingSaltsCorrosiveEffect_STFIG_7nj_ForReview_Equipment%20v2_txt_0.jpg?h=995a696e&itok=bT3iWSgL)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists recently demonstrated a low-temperature, safe route to purifying molten chloride salts that minimizes their ability to corrode metals. This method could make the salts useful for storing energy generated from the sun’s heat.
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers used an invertible neural network, a type of artificial intelligence that mimics the human brain, to select the most suitable materials for desired properties, such as flexibility or heat resistance, with high chemical accuracy. The study could lead to more customizable materials design for industry.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/CCSD_NeuralNetworkBanner.png?h=b16f811b&itok=fxqDEvs_)
A study led by researchers at ORNL could help make materials design as customizable as point-and-click.
![Using quantum Monte Carlo methods, the researchers simulated bulk VO2. Yellow and turquoise represent changes in electron density between the excited and ground states of a compound composed of oxygen, in red, and vanadium, in blue, which allowed them to evaluate how an oxygen vacancy, in white, can alter the compound’s properties. Credit: Panchapakesan Ganesh/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-01/image001_0.png?h=11d99c73&itok=sdREw4na)
Neuromorphic devices — which emulate the decision-making processes of the human brain — show great promise for solving pressing scientific problems, but building physical systems to realize this potential presents researchers with a significant
![ORNL’s Marcel Demarteau inspects experiments along Neutrino Alley at the Spallation Neutron Source, which makes neutrinos as a byproduct. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-12/2020-P15166_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=GkpktZzV)
Marcel Demarteau is director of the Physics Division at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For topics from nuclear structure to astrophysics, he shapes ORNL’s physics research agenda.
![Xunxiang Hu, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division, designed this machine to produce large, crack-free pieces of yttrium hydride to be used as a moderator in the core of ORNL’s Transformational Challenge Reactor and other microreactors. Credit: Xunxiang Hu/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-09/HuYHxphoto.jpg?h=eef83f16&itok=7KfkqQLh)
About 60 years ago, scientists discovered that a certain rare earth metal-hydrogen mixture, yttrium, could be the ideal moderator to go inside small, gas-cooled nuclear reactors.
![Drawing of skyrmions spins](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Skyrmion%20-%20v12%20%28NEW%20image%20from%20HNL%29_0.jpg?h=df0a286c&itok=qHEwvGTR)
Scientists discovered a strategy for layering dissimilar crystals with atomic precision to control the size of resulting magnetic quasi-particles called skyrmions.
![Simulation of short polymer chains](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Screen%20Shot%202020-07-27%20at%202.46.08%20PM_0.png?h=fc4031ca&itok=DVcIeNaW)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have discovered a cost-effective way to significantly improve the mechanical performance of common polymer nanocomposite materials.