Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Clean Energy (19)
- (-) Fusion Energy (5)
- (-) Supercomputing (7)
- Advanced Manufacturing (2)
- Biology and Environment (17)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (3)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Computer Science (1)
- Isotopes (3)
- Materials (17)
- Materials for Computing (4)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (2)
- Neutron Science (23)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (11)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (1)
News Topics
- (-) Clean Water (4)
- (-) Environment (17)
- (-) Nanotechnology (2)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (7)
- (-) Space Exploration (3)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (24)
- Advanced Reactors (7)
- Artificial Intelligence (2)
- Big Data (5)
- Bioenergy (2)
- Biology (3)
- Biomedical (5)
- Biotechnology (1)
- Buildings (13)
- Chemical Sciences (2)
- Climate Change (7)
- Composites (9)
- Computer Science (24)
- Coronavirus (4)
- Critical Materials (7)
- Decarbonization (4)
- Energy Storage (22)
- Exascale Computing (1)
- Frontier (1)
- Fusion (6)
- Grid (15)
- High-Performance Computing (3)
- Hydropower (2)
- Machine Learning (3)
- Materials (13)
- Materials Science (12)
- Mathematics (1)
- Mercury (1)
- Microscopy (2)
- Net Zero (1)
- Polymers (7)
- Quantum Computing (4)
- Quantum Science (3)
- Simulation (2)
- Statistics (1)
- Summit (6)
- Sustainable Energy (28)
- Transportation (26)
Media Contacts
![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.
![SPRUCE experiment](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/SPRUCE_0.png?h=9afda364&itok=zCibJUsI)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists evaluating northern peatland responses to environmental change recorded extraordinary fine-root growth with increasing temperatures, indicating that this previously hidden belowground mechanism may play an important role in how carbon-rich peatlands respond to warming.
![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.
![Map with focus on sub-saharan Africa](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-07/firms3-Africa-NASA_0.jpg?h=27f1d52b&itok=G8uUS5cH)
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a method that uses machine learning to predict seasonal fire risk in Africa, where half of the world’s wildfire-related carbon emissions originate.
An international team of scientists found that rules governing plant growth hold true even at the edges of the world in the Arctic tundra.
![A new computational approach by ORNL can more quickly scan large-scale satellite images, such as these of Puerto Rico, for more accurate mapping of complex infrastructure like buildings. Credit: Maxar Technologies and Dalton Lunga/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/Puerto_Rico_Resflow9.png?h=a0a1befd&itok=5n2fss_e)
A novel approach developed by scientists at ORNL can scan massive datasets of large-scale satellite images to more accurately map infrastructure – such as buildings and roads – in hours versus days.
![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.
![Beneficial microbes, shown in red, aid Sphagnum mosses in using nitrogen from the air to fuel plant growth. ORNL scientists have shown this nitrogen fixing activity declines with warming temperatures. Credit: David Weston/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/full_leaf.jpg?h=5a90f57a&itok=FLlZkQ40)
A team of scientists found that critical interactions between microbes and peat moss break down under warming temperatures, impacting moss health and ultimately carbon stored in soil.
![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.
![Heat impact map](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-07/Winter_HDD_Change_ORNL.gif?h=e87b941e&itok=8t83D_u_)
A detailed study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimated how much more—or less—energy United States residents might consume by 2050 relative to predicted shifts in seasonal weather patterns