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Media Contacts
![This newly manufactured fixed guide vane of a hydropower turbine system was printed at the DOE Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2018-P00570_0.png?h=82f92a78&itok=9y4_5upC)
A new report published by ORNL assessed how advanced manufacturing and materials, such as 3D printing and novel component coatings, could offer solutions to modernize the existing fleet and design new approaches to hydropower.
![ORNL’s Brenda Pracheil, left, and Kristine Moody collect water samples at Melton Hill Lake using a sophisticated instrument that collects DNA in the water to determine fish species and number of fish in the water, which could prove useful for monitoring hydropower impacts. Credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL/U.S Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-01/2020-P17436_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=BXPhSslk)
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using a novel approach in determining environmental impacts to aquatic species near hydropower facilities, potentially leading to smarter facility designs that can support electrical grid reliability.
![A new process developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory leverages deep learning techniques to study cell movements in a simulated environment, guided by simple physics rules similar to video-game play. Credit: MSKCC and UTK](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-01/Observed%20data%20AI%20story%20tip.jpg?h=8e5dac0a&itok=wrAOsfIs)
Scientists have developed a novel approach to computationally infer previously undetected behaviors within complex biological environments by analyzing live, time-lapsed images that show the positioning of embryonic cells in C. elegans, or roundworms. Their published methods could be used to reveal hidden biological activity.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and collaborators have discovered that signaling molecules known to trigger symbiosis between plants and soil bacteria are also used by almost all fungi as chemical signals to communicate with each other.
![ORNL assisted in investigating proteins called porins, one shown in red, which are found in the protective outer membrane of certain disease-causing bacteria and tether the membrane to the cell wall. Credit: Hyea (Sunny) Hwang/Georgia Tech and ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-11/Biology-gram-negative_0.jpg?h=ced0ee1c&itok=mTOudglI)
Scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory used high-performance computing to create protein models that helped reveal how the outer membrane is tethered to the cell membrane in certain bacteria.
![Fuel pellets sometimes degrade to a sandlike consistency and can disperse into the reactor core if a rod’s cladding bursts. ORNL researchers are studying how often this happens and what impact it has, in order to let reactors operate as long as possible without increasing risk.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/X2001338_FuelFragmentation_GraphicUpdate_Bumpus_jnj-02_0.jpg?h=049a2720&itok=mzNfF2cS)
A developing method to gauge the occurrence of a nuclear reactor anomaly has the potential to save millions of dollars.
![Using the ASGarD mathematical framework, scientists can model and visualize the electric fields, shown as arrows, circling around magnetic fields that are colorized to represent field magnitude of a fusion plasma. Credit: David Green/ORNL](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Max1_t5e-1_EB_0.png?h=35bae166&itok=iRtx2TVM)
Combining expertise in physics, applied math and computing, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists are expanding the possibilities for simulating electromagnetic fields that underpin phenomena in materials design and telecommunications.
![Argon pellet injection text](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/13966_Ar_20degree_enhanced_0.jpg?h=8450e950&itok=tmff0GX_)
As scientists study approaches to best sustain a fusion reactor, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory investigated injecting shattered argon pellets into a super-hot plasma, when needed, to protect the reactor’s interior wall from high-energy runaway electrons.
![Tungsten tiles for fusion](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-07/EBM-tungsten_tiles_ORNL.png?h=0c890573&itok=XgIsl0tA)
Using additive manufacturing, scientists experimenting with tungsten at Oak Ridge National Laboratory hope to unlock new potential of the high-performance heat-transferring material used to protect components from the plasma inside a fusion reactor. Fusion requires hydrogen isotopes to reach millions of degrees.
![An ORNL-developed graphite foam, which could be used in plasma-facing components in fusion reactors, performed well during testing at the Wendlestein 7-X stellarator in Germany.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-02/W7-XPlasmaExposure_0.jpg?h=d5d04e3b&itok=uKiauhdF)
Scientists have tested a novel heat-shielding graphite foam, originally created at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X stellarator with promising results for use in plasma-facing components of fusion reactors.