Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Fusion Energy (13)
- (-) Isotopes (10)
- Advanced Manufacturing (3)
- Biological Systems (2)
- Biology and Environment (65)
- Clean Energy (128)
- Computational Biology (2)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Computer Science (2)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (3)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (1)
- Fusion and Fission (27)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Materials (45)
- Materials for Computing (10)
- National Security (45)
- Neutron Science (27)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (16)
- Quantum information Science (2)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (46)
- Transportation Systems (2)
News Topics
- (-) Biomedical (5)
- (-) Fusion (13)
- (-) National Security (1)
- (-) Space Exploration (4)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (1)
- Advanced Reactors (7)
- Climate Change (1)
- Computer Science (3)
- Energy Storage (1)
- Environment (1)
- Frontier (1)
- Irradiation (1)
- Isotopes (24)
- Materials (5)
- Materials Science (4)
- Nuclear Energy (13)
- Security (1)
- Summit (1)
- Sustainable Energy (2)
Media Contacts
![Seeing the difference Ac-225 could make to cancer patients made Raina Setzer want to come to ORNL to directly work with the isotope. Credit: Allison Peacock/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/rs_0.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=nFsgqwUT)
Raina Setzer knows the work she does matters. That’s because she’s already seen it from the other side. Setzer, a radiochemical processing technician in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Isotope Processing and Manufacturing Division, joined the lab in June 2023.
![: This schematic of tokamak core-pedestal-boundary regions show what will be simulated by an ORNL project applying machine learning to plasma physics modeling. Credit: Giacomin et al., J. Comput. Phys., 463, (2022) 111294, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2022.11294](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/Fusion%20tokamak%20simulator.png?h=e1e3aba4&itok=kiVnri5A)
ORNL will lead three new DOE-funded projects designed to bring fusion energy to the grid on a rapid timescale.
![Plutonium oxide is loaded onto a truck for shipping. Adam Parkison/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/PXL_20230620_120836896_0.jpg?h=2848f5af&itok=Nh31DLuy)
In June, ORNL hit a milestone not seen in more than three decades: producing a production-quality amount of plutonium-238
![HFIR](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/HFIR_0.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=8tMcVdaT)
Creating energy the way the sun and stars do — through nuclear fusion — is one of the grand challenges facing science and technology. What’s easy for the sun and its billions of relatives turns out to be particularly difficult on Earth.
![The Fuel Pellet Fueling Laboratory at ORNL is part of a suite of fusion energy R&D capabilities and provides test equipment and related diagnostics for carrying out experiments to develop pellet injectors for plasma fueling applications. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2021-P02876_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=8fqWlX5k)
ORNL will team up with six of eight companies that are advancing designs and research and development for fusion power plants with the mission to achieve a pilot-scale demonstration of fusion within a decade.
![Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory probed the chemistry of radium to gain key insights on advancing cancer treatments using radiation therapy. Credit: Adam Malin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/radium_0.jpg?h=dbdf53bf&itok=dMlhyVKO)
Researchers at ORNL explored radium’s chemistry to advance cancer treatments using ionizing radiation.
![Mars Rover 2020](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-03/Mars_0.jpg?h=c44fcfa1&itok=gSstQOJO)
More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary Jennifer Granholm in January as part of project teams spanning the national laboratory system. The annual awards recognized 21 teams and three individuals for service and contributions to DOE’s mission and to the benefit of the nation.
![Former ORNL Director Thom Mason presents Tom Kollie with a National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation on behalf of James Clapper, former director of national intelligence, and the national intelligence community in June 2017. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-09/2017-P04637_1.jpg?h=b6236d98&itok=Riz5mhDe)
A 25-year career with the U.S. Navy, commanding combat missions overseas, brought Tom Kollie back to where he came from — ready to serve his country in a new way.
![Summer Widner, Stephanie Timbs, James Gaugler and James Avenell of ORNL are part of a team that processes thorium-228, a byproduct of actinium-227. As new uses for thorium are realized, particularly in medicine, the lab expects the demand for the radioisotope to grow.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/Part%20of%20Th-228%20Team_1.jpg?h=09b6d1d3&itok=1_l1hx2l)
As a medical isotope, thorium-228 has a lot of potential — and Oak Ridge National Laboratory produces a lot.
![Targeted alpha therapy can deliver radiation to specific cells, with minimal effect on surrounding, healthy cells. Credit: Michelle Lehman and Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-03/gif_high_res.gif?h=ae1281eb&itok=QtNBjm3O)
A rare isotope in high demand for treating cancer is now more available to pharmaceutical companies developing and testing new drugs.