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Media Contacts
![These images show increasing levels of magnification of phytoliths in the leaves of poplar trees, a key biofuel crop, imaged using ORNL’s specialized microscopy-spectroscopy. Credit: Elizabeth Herndon/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/siliconphytoliths_0.jpg?h=b8dc44ba&itok=Eqt3EDFD)
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are closer to unlocking the secrets to better soil carbon sequestration by studying the tiny, sand-like silicon deposits called phytoliths in plants.
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Leah Broussard shows a neutron-absorbing "wall" that stops all neutrons but in theory would allow hypothetical mirror neutrons to pass through. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/2019-P14931_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=CrsmDVzv)
To solve a long-standing puzzle about how long a neutron can “live” outside an atomic nucleus, physicists entertained a wild but testable theory positing the existence of a right-handed version of our left-handed universe.
![Giri Prakash, director of the ARM Data Center, works with the latest ARM computing cluster at ORNL. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/Giri%20Prakash%202021-P08675_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=4B1bQQD5)
The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Data Center is shepherding changes to its operations to make the treasure trove of data more easily available accessible and useful to scientists studying Earth’s climate.
![Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy, a nondestructive technique in which the tip of the probe of a microscope scatters pulses of light to generate a picture of a sample, allowed the team to obtain insights into the composition of plant cell walls. Credit: Ali Passian/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/Picture1_0.jpg?h=da2f9885&itok=_QN9qoqF)
To optimize biomaterials for reliable, cost-effective paper production, building construction, and biofuel development, researchers often study the structure of plant cells using techniques such as freezing plant samples or placing them in a vacuum.
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Mitch Allmond works with the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams Decay Station initiator, which combined diverse detectors for FRIB’s first experiment. Credit: Robert Grzywacz/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/FRIB1.jpg?h=429981e8&itok=sFq0uTlk)
Two decades in the making, a new flagship facility for nuclear physics opened on May 2, and scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have a hand in 10 of its first 34 experiments.
![Frontier has arrived, and ORNL is preparing for science on Day One. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/Frontier%20endcap.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=5i5DUzQz)
The Frontier supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory earned the top ranking today as the world’s fastest on the 59th TOP500 list, with 1.1 exaflops of performance. The system is the first to achieve an unprecedented level of computing performance known as exascale, a threshold of a quintillion calculations per second.
![Jennifer Morrell-Falvey leads the Molecular and Cellular Imaging group at ORNL, advancing new insights in several scientific areas, including the interactions between plants and microbes that influence ecosystem health and carbon cycling. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/2022-P04224.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=6MlHRB4F)
Jennifer Morrell-Falvey’s interest in visualizing the science behind natural processes was what drew her to ORNL in what she expected to be a short stint some 18 years ago.
![LandScan Global depicts population distribution estimates across the planet. The darker orange and red colors above indicate higher population density. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/Picture1_0.jpg?h=9d172ced&itok=uYwYp-pW)
It’s a simple premise: To truly improve the health, safety, and security of human beings, you must first understand where those individuals are.
![Jim Szybist, Propulsion Science section head at ORNL, is applying his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/Picture1_6.jpg?h=b67478d5&itok=3BWDWSU8)
What’s getting Jim Szybist fired up these days? It’s the opportunity to apply his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector — from airplanes to locomotives to ships and massive farm combines.
![A smart approach to microscopy and imaging developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could drive discoveries in materials for future technologies. Credit: Adam Malin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/PFC%20Surface%20v3%20300dpi_1.jpg?h=9c3ba2fc&itok=s8arZbEt)
Researchers at ORNL are teaching microscopes to drive discoveries with an intuitive algorithm, developed at the lab’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, that could guide breakthroughs in new materials for energy technologies, sensing and computing.