Skip to main content
ORNL researchers used neutrons at the lab’s Spallation Neutron Source to analyze modified high-entropy metal alloys with enhanced strength and ductility, or the ability to stretch, under high-stress without failing. Credit: Rui Feng/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method of adding nanostructures to high-entropy metal alloys, or HEAs, that enhance both strength and ductility, which is the ability to deform or stretch
David Sholl is director of the new ORNL Transformational Decarbonization Initiative, working to elevate the lab’s prominence in decarbonization science and technology. Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy.

David Sholl has come to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a wealth of scientific expertise and a personal mission: hasten the development and deployment of decarbonization solutions for the nation’s energy system.

ORNL and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists studied the formation of amorphous ice like the exotic ice found in interstellar space and on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory successfully created amorphous ice, similar to ice in interstellar space and on icy worlds in our solar system. They documented that its disordered atomic behavior is unlike any ice on Earth.

Scientists genetically engineered bacteria for itaconic acid production, creating dynamic controls that separate microbial growth and production phases for increased efficiency and acid yield. Credit: NREL

A research team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory bioengineered a microbe to efficiently turn waste into itaconic acid, an industrial chemical used in plastics and paints.

Ken Andersen

From Denmark to Japan, the UK, France, and Sweden, physicist Ken Andersen has worked at neutron sources around the world. With significant contributions to neutron scattering and the scientific community, he’s now serving in his most important role yet.

Kashif Nawaz, researcher and group leader for multifunctional equipment integration in buildings technologies, is developing a platform for the direct air capture of carbon dioxide that can be retrofitted to existing rooftop heating, ventilation and air conditioning units.  Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

When Kashif Nawaz looks at a satellite map of the U.S., he sees millions of buildings that could hold a potential solution for the capture of carbon dioxide, a plentiful gas that can be harmful when excessive amounts are released into the atmosphere, raising the Earth’s temperature.

Urban climate modeling

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have identified a statistical relationship between the growth of cities and the spread of paved surfaces like roads and sidewalks. These impervious surfaces impede the flow of water into the ground, affecting the water cycle and, by extension, the climate.

The pressure cell uses two gem-quality synthetic opposing diamonds to exert extreme pressures on materials, providing fundamental insights into materials that only neutrons can reveal. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source have developed a diamond anvil pressure cell that will enable high-pressure science currently not possible at any other neutron source in the world.

Saplings in an aspen grove recovering from wildfire have more fungal pathogens in their leaves than the original trees. Credit: Chris Schadt/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

An Oak Ridge National Laboratory research team discovered that aspen saplings emerging after wildfire have less diverse microbiomes and more pathogens in their leaves, providing new insights about how fire affects ecosystem recovery.

Martin Wissink of ORNL’s Buildings and Transportation Science Division applies neutrons and other diagnostic tools at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in pursuit of cleaner, sustainable and more flexible transportation technologies. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy

For a researcher who started out in mechanical engineering with a focus on engine combustion, Martin Wissink has learned a lot about neutrons on the job