Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Clean Energy (57)
- (-) Materials (32)
- Advanced Manufacturing (3)
- Biology and Environment (62)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (1)
- Fusion and Fission (16)
- Fusion Energy (5)
- Isotopes (16)
- Materials for Computing (3)
- National Security (4)
- Neutron Science (11)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (10)
- Quantum information Science (2)
- Supercomputing (17)
News Topics
- (-) 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (25)
- (-) Energy Storage (22)
- (-) Environment (23)
- (-) Fusion (2)
- (-) Isotopes (6)
- (-) Microscopy (8)
- (-) Polymers (4)
- (-) Space Exploration (2)
- Advanced Reactors (3)
- Artificial Intelligence (5)
- Big Data (2)
- Bioenergy (11)
- Biology (4)
- Biomedical (4)
- Biotechnology (1)
- Buildings (11)
- Chemical Sciences (8)
- Clean Water (5)
- Climate Change (8)
- Composites (3)
- Computer Science (13)
- Coronavirus (6)
- Cybersecurity (6)
- Decarbonization (15)
- Exascale Computing (1)
- Fossil Energy (1)
- Grid (13)
- High-Performance Computing (3)
- Machine Learning (2)
- Materials (24)
- Materials Science (20)
- Mathematics (2)
- Mercury (1)
- Microelectronics (1)
- Nanotechnology (9)
- National Security (1)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (11)
- Nuclear Energy (11)
- Partnerships (5)
- Physics (11)
- Quantum Computing (1)
- Quantum Science (1)
- Security (4)
- Simulation (1)
- Summit (3)
- Sustainable Energy (15)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (2)
- Transportation (19)
Media Contacts
![Wire arc additive manufacturing allowed this robot arm at ORNL to transform metal wire into a complete steam turbine blade like those used in power plants. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-12/2023-P05157.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=LKO4fsAu)
Researchers at ORNL became the first to 3D-print large rotating steam turbine blades for generating energy in power plants.
![Group image](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/2023-P11446_0.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=bk8wRZSk)
In response to a renewed international interest in molten salt reactors, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a novel technique to visualize molten salt intrusion in graphite.
![The sun sets behind the ORNL Visitor Center in this aerial photo from April 2023. Credit: Kase Clapp/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/sunset_visitor-center_0.png?h=10d202d3&itok=jLImPT0R)
In fiscal year 2023 — Oct. 1–Sept. 30, 2023 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory was awarded more than $8 million in technology maturation funding through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund, or TCF.
![ORNL’s organocatalyst deconstructs mixed plastics at different temperatures, which facilitates recovering their individual monomers separately, in reusable form. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/23-G05683_MixedPlasticRecycling_proof2_0.png?h=27870e4a&itok=jjYga9GD)
Little of the mixed consumer plastics thrown away or placed in recycle bins actually ends up being recycled. Nearly 90% is buried in landfills or incinerated at commercial facilities that generate greenhouse gases and airborne toxins. Neither outcome is ideal for the environment.
![As a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tugba Turnaoglu is investigating new thermal energy storage materials and ways to incorporate them into cost-effective and energy-efficient heat pump designs. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2023-P11283.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=vr7C7cTK)
The common sounds in the background of daily life – like a refrigerator’s hum, an air conditioner’s whoosh and a heat pump’s buzz – often go unnoticed. These noises, however, are the heartbeat of a healthy building and integral for comfort and convenience.
![Chathuddasie Amarasinghe explains her research poster, “Using Microfluidic Mother Machine Devices to Study the Correlated Dynamics of Ribosomes and Chromosomes in Escherichia Coli.” Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2023-P11614_0.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=kjePlpfo)
Speakers, scientific workshops, speed networking, a student poster showcase and more energized the Annual User Meeting of the Department of Energy’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, or CNMS, Aug. 7-10, near Market Square in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.
![Jonathan Harter, a technical professional in ORNL’s Engineering Science and Technology Directorate, uses a robot and other automated methods to disassemble electric vehicle batteries for recycling or reuse in the electric grid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/2021-P06328_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=elZeutaQ)
After being stabilized in an ambulance as he struggled to breathe, Jonathan Harter hit a low point. It was 2020, he was very sick with COVID-19, and his job as a lab technician at ORNL was ending along with his research funding.
![Yarom Polsky studio portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-07/Yarom%20Polsky_0.jpg?h=0e6c7b49&itok=9H4BJ5Wm)
Yarom Polsky, director of the Manufacturing Science Division, or MSD, at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or ASME.
![ORNL researchers found that a battery anode film, made by Navitas Systems using a dry process, was strong and flexible. These characteristics make a lithium-ion battery safer and more durable. Credit: Navitas Systems](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-07/Dry-Process%20Anode.horizontal.Navitas_0.jpg?h=86ae50b6&itok=zgdHv3Ls)
Early experiments at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have revealed significant benefits to a dry battery manufacturing process. This eliminates the use of solvents and is more affordable, while showing promise for delivering a battery that is durable, less weighed down by inactive elements, and able to maintain a high capacity after use.
![HFIR](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/HFIR_0.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=8tMcVdaT)
Creating energy the way the sun and stars do — through nuclear fusion — is one of the grand challenges facing science and technology. What’s easy for the sun and its billions of relatives turns out to be particularly difficult on Earth.