Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Biology and Environment (57)
- (-) Materials (111)
- (-) Neutron Science (32)
- Advanced Manufacturing (6)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Clean Energy (64)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (2)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (2)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (1)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (1)
- Fusion and Fission (45)
- Fusion Energy (15)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (26)
- Materials Characterization (1)
- Materials for Computing (20)
- Materials Under Extremes (1)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (14)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (38)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Supercomputing (76)
- Transportation Systems (1)
News Topics
- (-) Climate Change (43)
- (-) Fusion (8)
- (-) Isotopes (13)
- (-) Materials Science (90)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (18)
- (-) Polymers (19)
- (-) Summit (15)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (31)
- Advanced Reactors (5)
- Artificial Intelligence (18)
- Big Data (11)
- Bioenergy (55)
- Biology (75)
- Biomedical (30)
- Biotechnology (13)
- Buildings (5)
- Chemical Sciences (36)
- Clean Water (15)
- Composites (11)
- Computer Science (41)
- Coronavirus (19)
- Critical Materials (13)
- Cybersecurity (5)
- Decarbonization (27)
- Energy Storage (41)
- Environment (106)
- Exascale Computing (6)
- Fossil Energy (1)
- Frontier (7)
- Grid (8)
- High-Performance Computing (26)
- Hydropower (8)
- Irradiation (1)
- ITER (1)
- Machine Learning (13)
- Materials (84)
- Mathematics (3)
- Mercury (7)
- Microscopy (34)
- Molten Salt (3)
- Nanotechnology (46)
- National Security (6)
- Net Zero (3)
- Neutron Science (106)
- Partnerships (12)
- Physics (32)
- Quantum Computing (4)
- Quantum Science (15)
- Renewable Energy (2)
- Security (4)
- Simulation (15)
- Space Exploration (5)
- Sustainable Energy (43)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (20)
Media Contacts
![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.
![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.
To better understand important dynamics at play in flood-prone coastal areas, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists working on simulations of Earth’s carbon and nutrient cycles paid a visit to experimentalists gathering data in a Texas wetland.
![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.
![The ORNL DAAC gathers, processes, archives and distributes information on key land processes, including the shifting ecological and geomorphological features of the U.S. Atchafalaya and Terrebonne basins gathered by the NASA Delta-X mission shown here. Credit: NASA Delta-X](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/EcoGeomorphicCells_data_browse_2.png?h=b0c6fd8d&itok=1Dtpugqb)
In 1993 as data managers at ORNL began compiling observations from field experiments for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the information fit on compact discs and was mailed to users along with printed manuals.
![Connecting wires to the interface of the topological insulator and superconductor enables probing of novel electronic properties. Researchers aim for qubits based on theorized Majorana particles. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2023-P04516.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=BoCZtfwR)
Quantum computers process information using quantum bits, or qubits, based on fragile, short-lived quantum mechanical states. To make qubits robust and tailor them for applications, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory sought to create a new material system.
![Bob Bolton has spent much of his career studying environmental change in Alaska. He recently moved to East Tennessee to join the ORNL-led NGEE Arctic project as deputy for operations. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2023-P10693.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=VZ2Bo1Ia)
Bob Bolton may have moved to a southerly latitude at ORNL, but he is still stewarding scientific exploration in the Arctic, along with a project that helps amplify the voices of Alaskans who reside in a landscape on the front lines of climate change.
![Researchers used the open-source Community Earth System Model to simulate the effects that extreme climatic conditions have on processes like land carbon storage. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/wildfire_0.jpg?h=175bab9e&itok=sbjoOQiV)
Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Northeastern University modeled how extreme conditions in a changing climate affect the land’s ability to absorb atmospheric carbon — a key process for mitigating human-caused emissions. They found that 88% of Earth’s regions could become carbon emitters by the end of the 21st century.
![Madhavi Martin portrait image](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/2023-P09857_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=4QOEKn5k)
Madhavi Martin brings a physicist’s tools and perspective to biological and environmental research at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, supporting advances in bioenergy, soil carbon storage and environmental monitoring, and even helping solve a murder mystery.
![ORNL’s Fernanda Santos examines a soil sample at an NGEE Arctic field site in the Alaskan tundra in June 2022. Credit: Amy Breen, University of Alaska Fairbanks.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/Fernanda_Nome_June2022.jpg?h=06de31ac&itok=VGxKV_uY)
Wildfires are an ancient force shaping the environment, but they have grown in frequency, range and intensity in response to a changing climate. At ORNL, scientists are working on several fronts to better understand and predict these events and what they mean for the carbon cycle and biodiversity.