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A study led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory details how artificial intelligence researchers created an AI model to help identify new alloys used as shielding for housing fusion applications components in a nuclear reactor. The findings mark a major step towards improving nuclear fusion facilities.

Scientists using high-resolution aerial scans and computational modeling concluded that wildfires, storms and selective logging have become key drivers behind rainforest carbon emissions, outpacing clear-cutting practices.

A study by more than a dozen scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory examines potential strategies to integrate quantum computing with the world’s most powerful supercomputing systems in the pursuit of science.

Researchers at ORNL have demonstrated that small molecular tweaks to surfaces can improve absorption technology for direct air capture of carbon dioxide. The team added a charged polymer layer to an amino acid solution, and then, through spectroscopy and simulation, found that the charged layer can hold amino acids at its surface. 

To better predict long-term flooding risk, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a 3D modeling framework that captures the complex dynamics of water as it flows across the landscape. The framework seeks to provide valuable insights into which communities are most vulnerable as the climate changes, and was developed for a project that’s assessing climate risk and mitigation pathways for an urban area along the Southeast Texas coast.

Leadership Tennessee has named Clarice Phelps to its 2024–2025 Signature Program Class XI to collaborate with professionals statewide to address Tennessee’s most serious issues. 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed free data sets to estimate how much energy any building in the contiguous U.S. will use in 2100. These data sets provide planners a way to anticipate future energy needs as the climate changes.

ORNL scientists develop a sample holder that tumbles powdered photochemical materials within a neutron beamline — exposing more of the material to light for increased photo-activation and better photochemistry data capture.

Scientists have uncovered the properties of a rare earth element that was first discovered 80 years ago at the very same laboratory, opening a new pathway for the exploration of elements critical in modern technology, from medicine to space travel.

Scientists at ORNL completed a study of how well vegetation survived extreme heat events in both urban and rural communities across the country in recent years. The analysis informs pathways for climate mitigation, including ways to reduce the effect of urban heat islands.