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Ilias Belharouak, Grace Burke and Phil Snyder represent ORNL’s strengths in battery technology, materials science and fusion energy research.

Three researchers at ORNL have been named ORNL Corporate Fellows in recognition of significant career accomplishments and continued leadership in their scientific fields.

Nearly $500 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding will support several key science projects underway at ORNL. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

Several significant science and energy projects led by the ORNL will receive a total of $497 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

A simulation of the planet from the DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model, one of the large-scale models incorporated in the Earth System Grid Federation led by DOE’s Oak Ridge, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. Credit: LLNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Earth System Grid Federation, a multi-agency initiative that gathers and distributes data for top-tier projections of the Earth’s climate, is preparing a series of upgrades.

ORNL fusion technology scientist Tim Bigelow, right, stands near the control console in ORNL’s  fusion control room with Matt Houde of Quaise Energy. Their partnership aims to tackle technical challenges with the Millimeter Wave Drilling System that Quaise has developed. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Researchers in the geothermal energy industry are joining forces with fusion experts at ORNL to repurpose gyrotron technology, a tool used in fusion. Gyrotrons produce high-powered microwaves to heat up fusion plasmas.

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

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.

ORNL’s Bruce Pint, left, and Marie Romedenne review experiment results. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Practical fusion energy is not just a dream at ORNL. Experts in fusion and material science are working together to develop solutions that will make a fusion pilot plant — and ultimately carbon-free, abundant fusion electricity — possible.

Frontier has arrived, and ORNL is preparing for science on Day One. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, Dept. of Energy

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.

A team of fusion scientists and engineers stand in front of ORNL’s Helium Flow Loop device. From back left to front right: Chris Crawford, Fayaz Rasheed, Joy Fan, Michael Morrow, Charles Kessel, Adam Carroll, and Cody Wiggins. Not pictured: Dennis Youchison and Monica Gehrig. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL.

To achieve practical energy from fusion, extreme heat from the fusion system “blanket” component must be extracted safely and efficiently. ORNL fusion experts are exploring how tiny 3D-printed obstacles placed inside the narrow pipes of a custom-made cooling system could be a solution for removing heat from the blanket.

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

It’s a simple premise: To truly improve the health, safety, and security of human beings, you must first understand where those individuals are.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers quantified human behaviors during the early days of COVID-19, which could be useful for disaster response or city planning. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have empirically quantified the shifts in routine daytime activities, such as getting a morning coffee or takeaway dinner, following safer at home orders during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.