Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Building Technologies (2)
- (-) Materials (49)
- (-) Neutron Science (14)
- Advanced Manufacturing (9)
- Biology and Environment (48)
- Clean Energy (104)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Computer Science (9)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (1)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (1)
- Fusion and Fission (14)
- Fusion Energy (9)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (26)
- Materials for Computing (8)
- National Security (31)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (21)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (3)
- Supercomputing (71)
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (5)
- (-) Artificial Intelligence (12)
- (-) Composites (9)
- (-) Cybersecurity (5)
- (-) Exascale Computing (2)
- (-) Isotopes (13)
- (-) Space Exploration (5)
- (-) Sustainable Energy (16)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (28)
- Big Data (3)
- Bioenergy (15)
- Biology (9)
- Biomedical (17)
- Biotechnology (1)
- Buildings (8)
- Chemical Sciences (33)
- Clean Water (4)
- Climate Change (5)
- Computer Science (25)
- Coronavirus (11)
- Critical Materials (13)
- Decarbonization (9)
- Energy Storage (38)
- Environment (21)
- Fossil Energy (1)
- Frontier (4)
- Fusion (8)
- Grid (5)
- High-Performance Computing (6)
- Irradiation (1)
- ITER (1)
- Machine Learning (7)
- Materials (80)
- Materials Science (87)
- Mathematics (1)
- Microscopy (27)
- Molten Salt (3)
- Nanotechnology (43)
- National Security (4)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (106)
- Nuclear Energy (18)
- Partnerships (11)
- Physics (31)
- Polymers (18)
- Quantum Computing (4)
- Quantum Science (15)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (3)
- Simulation (1)
- Summit (6)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (19)
Media Contacts
![Caption: Jaswinder Sharma makes battery coin cells with a lightweight current collector made of thin layers of aligned carbon fibers in a polymer with carbon nanotubes. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2024-01/sharma1_1.jpg?h=f7dae89e&itok=JiSsMewF)
Electric vehicles can drive longer distances if their lithium-ion batteries deliver more energy in a lighter package. A prime weight-loss candidate is the current collector, a component that often adds 10% to the weight of a battery cell without contributing energy.
![ORNL researcher Anne Campbell will present a paper in Korea next year on materials support of carbon-free nuclear energy. Credit: Adam Malin, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/nuclear-future-72dpi_0.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=HCXlz2mw)
Anne Campbell, a researcher at ORNL, recently won the Young Leaders Professional Development Award from the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, or TMS, and has been chosen as the first recipient of the Young Leaders International Scholar Program award from TMS and the Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, or KIM.
![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.
![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.
![The DEMAND single crystal diffractometer at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR, is the latest neutron instrument at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to be equipped with machine learning-assisted software, called ReTIA. Credit: Jeremy Rumsey/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/DEMAND%20thumbnail%20image_0.jpg?h=c673cd1c&itok=5YAVwaP6)
Neutron experiments can take days to complete, requiring researchers to work long shifts to monitor progress and make necessary adjustments. But thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, experiments can now be done remotely and in half the time.
![ORNL seismic researcher Chengping Chai placed seismic sensors on the ground at various distances from an ORNL nuclear reactor to learn whether they could detect its operating state. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P03398.jpg?h=3e43625b&itok=TXK8tthh)
Like most scientists, Chengping Chai is not content with the surface of things: He wants to probe beyond to learn what’s really going on. But in his case, he is literally building a map of the world beneath, using seismic and acoustic data that reveal when and where the earth moves.
![ORNL and Enginuity researchers proved that a micro combined heat and power prototype, or mCHP, with an opposed piston engine can achieve more than 93% overall energy efficiency. The environmentally friendly mCHP can replace a back-up generator or traditional hot water heater. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/storytipjb.png?h=ddb1ad0c&itok=0ZTdSit5)
ORNL researchers, in collaboration with Enginuity Power Systems, demonstrated that a micro combined heat and power prototype, or mCHP, with a piston engine can achieve an overall energy efficiency greater than 93%.
![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.
![NASA scientist Andrew Needham used the MARS neutron imaging instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study moon rock samples brought back from the Apollo missions. Credit: Jeremy Rumsey/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-04/Needham%204%20crop.jpg?h=af6b00fd&itok=fNceymad)
How did we get from stardust to where we are today? That’s the question NASA scientist Andrew Needham has pondered his entire career.
![A researcher works in a lab in the Radiochemical Engineering and Development Center, or REDC, at ORNL’s main campus. The REDC provides world-class capabilities in isotope production, research and development, source fabrication, and the distribution of various unique isotopes. Here, experts handle some of the most exotic materials in the world. Credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-03/2022-P05201%20%281%29.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=VY8za1HJ)
A series of new classes at Pellissippi State Community College will offer students a new career path — and a national laboratory a pipeline of workers who have the skills needed for its own rapidly growing programs.