Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Biological Systems (2)
- (-) Materials (92)
- (-) Supercomputing (67)
- Advanced Manufacturing (2)
- Biology and Environment (149)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Clean Energy (134)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (6)
- Computational Biology (2)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Computer Science (4)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (3)
- Functional Materials for Energy (1)
- Fusion and Fission (9)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (26)
- Materials for Computing (8)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (35)
- Neutron Science (30)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (13)
- Quantum information Science (4)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
News Topics
- (-) Bioenergy (20)
- (-) Biology (14)
- (-) Climate Change (21)
- (-) Cybersecurity (8)
- (-) Environment (34)
- (-) Grid (9)
- (-) Isotopes (13)
- (-) Microscopy (29)
- (-) Physics (34)
- (-) Space Exploration (5)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (26)
- Advanced Reactors (5)
- Artificial Intelligence (38)
- Big Data (19)
- Biomedical (23)
- Biotechnology (2)
- Buildings (8)
- Chemical Sciences (32)
- Clean Water (3)
- Composites (9)
- Computer Science (98)
- Coronavirus (17)
- Critical Materials (15)
- Decarbonization (11)
- Energy Storage (37)
- Exascale Computing (22)
- Frontier (28)
- Fusion (8)
- High-Performance Computing (40)
- Irradiation (1)
- ITER (1)
- Machine Learning (14)
- Materials (79)
- Materials Science (83)
- Mathematics (1)
- Molten Salt (3)
- Nanotechnology (42)
- National Security (8)
- Net Zero (2)
- Neutron Science (42)
- Nuclear Energy (20)
- Partnerships (11)
- Polymers (18)
- Quantum Computing (20)
- Quantum Science (32)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (6)
- Simulation (14)
- Software (1)
- Summit (42)
- Sustainable Energy (19)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (19)
Media Contacts
![A new method for analyzing climate models brings together information from various lines of evidence to represent Earth’s climate sensitivity. Credit: Jason Smith/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/climate-models.png?h=b655f2ac&itok=l5A4_3yJ)
Researchers from institutions including ORNL have created a new method for statistically analyzing climate models that projects future conditions with more fidelity.
![Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory contributed to several chapters of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, providing expertise in complex ecosystem processes, energy systems, human dynamics, computational science and Earth-scale modeling. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/EarthSystem_2023NCA5.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=r043oHRM)
Scientists at ORNL used their knowledge of complex ecosystem processes, energy systems, human dynamics, computational science and Earth-scale modeling to inform the nation’s latest National Climate Assessment, which draws attention to vulnerabilities and resilience opportunities in every region of the country.
![Frontier’s exascale power enables the Energy, Exascale and Earth System Model-Multiscale Modeling Framework — or E3SM-MMF — project to run years’ worth of climate simulations at unprecedented speed and scale. Credit: Mark Taylor/Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/E3SM-MMF.png?h=21f5ce54&itok=UAeMXyqa)
The world’s first exascale supercomputer will help scientists peer into the future of global climate change and open a window into weather patterns that could affect the world a generation from now.
![ORNL scientists developed a method that improves the accuracy of the CRISPR Cas9 gene editing tool used to modify microbes for renewable fuels and chemicals production. This research draws on the lab’s expertise in quantum biology, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology. Credit: Philip Gray/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/CRISPR%20Quantum%20AI_2_23-G07105-DOE-BER-BESSD-comms-graphic-pcg_2.jpg?h=847b7ff0&itok=WD2dBsAC)
Scientists at ORNL used their expertise in quantum biology, artificial intelligence and bioengineering to improve how CRISPR Cas9 genome editing tools work on organisms like microbes that can be modified to produce renewable fuels and chemicals.
![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.
![red and green sphagnum moss](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/2022-P05000_0.jpg?h=971886de&itok=7xwMranw)
A type of peat moss has surprised scientists with its climate resilience: Sphagnum divinum is actively speciating in response to hot, dry conditions.
![Two hybrid poplar plants, middle and right, engineered with the PtrXB38 hub gene exhibited a drastic increase in root and callus formation compared with a wild-type control plant, left. Credit: Tao Yao/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/Poplar%20root%20story%20tip%20as%20JPEG_0.jpg?h=7bc542ef&itok=HNxpeEt6)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists identified a gene “hotspot” in the poplar tree that triggers dramatically increased root growth. The discovery supports development of better bioenergy crops and other plants that can thrive in difficult conditions while storing more carbon belowground.
![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.
![Photo collage with text that reads " A New era of discovery"](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/LRP%20Image_0.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=m-0J8hDE)
ORNL, a bastion of nuclear physics research for the past 80 years, is poised to strengthen its programs and service to the United States over the next decade if national recommendations of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee, or NSAC, are enacted.