Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Clean Energy (40)
- (-) Materials (23)
- (-) Materials for Computing (4)
- Advanced Manufacturing (4)
- Biology and Environment (11)
- Computer Science (1)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- Fusion and Fission (11)
- Fusion Energy (1)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (2)
- National Security (11)
- Neutron Science (4)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (8)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (24)
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (3)
- (-) Artificial Intelligence (6)
- (-) Grid (10)
- (-) Machine Learning (5)
- (-) Microscopy (13)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (5)
- (-) Security (4)
- (-) Sustainable Energy (25)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (33)
- Big Data (1)
- Bioenergy (17)
- Biology (6)
- Biomedical (4)
- Biotechnology (2)
- Buildings (8)
- Chemical Sciences (22)
- Clean Water (1)
- Climate Change (8)
- Composites (6)
- Computer Science (14)
- Coronavirus (4)
- Critical Materials (10)
- Cybersecurity (4)
- Decarbonization (11)
- Energy Storage (36)
- Environment (17)
- Exascale Computing (2)
- Fossil Energy (1)
- Frontier (2)
- Fusion (2)
- High-Performance Computing (4)
- Isotopes (6)
- ITER (1)
- Materials (46)
- Materials Science (43)
- Mercury (1)
- Molten Salt (2)
- Nanotechnology (23)
- National Security (6)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (25)
- Partnerships (11)
- Physics (14)
- Polymers (11)
- Quantum Computing (1)
- Quantum Science (11)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Simulation (1)
- Space Exploration (1)
- Summit (4)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (19)
Media Contacts
![An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, can be triggered by a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere or by an electromagnetic generator in a vehicle or aircraft. Here’s the chain of reactions it could cause to harm electrical equipment on the ground. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/EMP_illust04_0.png?h=21cd0a81&itok=M9UNd-n0)
Researchers at ORNL have been leading a project to understand how a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, could threaten power plants.
![When exposed to radiation, electrons produced within molten zinc chloride, or ZnCl2, can be observed in three distinct singly occupied molecular orbital states, plus a more diffuse, delocalized state. Credit: Hung H. Nguyen/University of Iowa](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/bernard-wide_0.png?h=dba5e3ef&itok=DgnYZ_Vy)
In a finding that helps elucidate how molten salts in advanced nuclear reactors might behave, scientists have shown how electrons interacting with the ions of the molten salt can form three states with different properties. Understanding these states can help predict the impact of radiation on the performance of salt-fueled reactors.
![ORNL’s David Sholl is director of the new DOE Energy Earthshot Non-Equilibrium Energy Transfer for Efficient Reactions center to help decarbonize the industrial chemical industry. Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2021-P04915.David_.Sholl_.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=qT7ZMJX2)
ORNL has been selected to lead an Energy Earthshot Research Center, or EERC, focused on developing chemical processes that use sustainable methods instead of burning fossil fuels to radically reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions to stem climate change and limit the crisis of a rapidly warming planet.
![ZEISS Head of Additive Manufacturing Technology Claus Hermannstaedter, left, and ORNL Interim Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Science and Technology Rick Raines sign a licensing agreement that allows ORNL’s machine-learning algorithm, Simurgh, to be used for rapid evaluations of 3D-printed components with industrial X-ray computed tomography, or CT. Using machine learning in CT scanning is expected to reduce the time and cost of inspections of 3D-printed parts by more than ten times.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/ZEISS%20signing%20handshake_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=4J8nVrPc)
A licensing agreement between the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and research partner ZEISS will enable industrial X-ray computed tomography, or CT, to perform rapid evaluations of 3D-printed components using ORNL’s machine
![TIP graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/TIPbg_1200.png?h=da33fe38&itok=y7ggwHLV)
Scientist-inventors from ORNL will present seven new technologies during the Technology Innovation Showcase on Friday, July 14, from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences on ORNL’s campus.
![ORNL seismic researcher Chengping Chai placed seismic sensors on the ground at various distances from an ORNL nuclear reactor to learn whether they could detect its operating state. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P03398.jpg?h=3e43625b&itok=TXK8tthh)
Like most scientists, Chengping Chai is not content with the surface of things: He wants to probe beyond to learn what’s really going on. But in his case, he is literally building a map of the world beneath, using seismic and acoustic data that reveal when and where the earth moves.
![Andrew Lupini](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-04/lupini.png?h=181bc054&itok=c-ov-WoV)
Andrew Lupini, a scientist and inventor at ORNL, has been elected Fellow of the Microscopy Society of America.
![A pure lipid membrane formed using lipid-coated water droplets exhibits long-term potentiation, or LTP, associated with learning and memory, emulating hippocampal LTP observed in the brains of mammals and birds. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-12/22-G03904_Katsaras.png?h=e5aec6c8&itok=reSDZkmx)
While studying how bio-inspired materials might inform the design of next-generation computers, scientists at ORNL achieved a first-of-its-kind result that could have big implications for both edge computing and human health.
![A team led by Raymond Borges Hink has developed a method using blockchain to protect communications between electronic devices in the electric grid, preventing cyberattacks and cascading blackouts. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-11/Blockchain%20Raymond%20portrait.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=g5Hnz0h2)
Although blockchain is best known for securing digital currency payments, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using it to track a different kind of exchange: It’s the first time blockchain has ever been used to validate communication among devices on the electric grid.
![Researchers from ORNL and Argonne National Laboratory will work with Wabtec, a leading manufacturer of freight locomotives, to develop the hardware and control strategies for a single cylinder, dual-fuel engine to demonstrate the viability of using alternative fuels for locomotives. The team’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions from the roughly 25,000 locomotives already in use in North America. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-11/wabtec1_0.png?h=5185f460&itok=TJdoI7Ek)
As the United States shifts away from fossil-fuel-burning cars and trucks, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories are exploring options for another form of transportation: trains. The research focuses on zero-carbon hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels as viable alternatives to diesel for the rail industry.