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Photo is a graphical representation of lithium ions (glowing orbs) move through a diffusion gate (gold triangle) in a solid-state electrolyte

A team of scientists led by a professor from Duke University discovered a way to help make batteries safer, charge faster and last longer. They relied on neutrons at ORNL to understand at the atomic scale how lithium moves in lithium phosphorus sulfur chloride, a promising new type of solid-state battery material known as a superionic compound. 

Image is blue and green with the background being a building on the left, merging into the photo on the right which are pictures of doppler radar graphics

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using non-weather data from the nationwide weather radar network to understand how to track non-meteorological events moving through the air for better emergency response. 

Man is flying drone in hurricane aftermath, holding the controller

During Hurricanes Helene and Milton, ORNL deployed drone teams and the Mapster platform to gather and share geospatial data, aiding recovery and damage assessments. ORNL's EAGLE-I platform tracked utility outages, helping prioritize recovery efforts. Drone data will train machine learning models for faster damage detection in future disasters. 

Three speakers are presenting at the front of the room with a presentation on the pulled down screen in the background
A team of researchers at ORNL are using virtual reality to understand normal and abnormal human behavior in a given location – specifically, a nuclear reactor. As people move around their lives, they tend to do similar activities in the same
Pictured is a map that is color-coded into purple, black, orange, pink and yellow to depict building density and color based on morphology to predict height

Researchers are using machine learning to provide a more complete picture of building geometries that include building height to within three meters of accuracy. This model not only provides building height for any building in the world, but it will also feed into LandScan and other large government datasets for planning and response. 

Big group photo standing outside of a brick building with text underneath describing the IAEA workshop on safety, security and safeguards

In early November, ORNL hosted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Interregional Workshop on Safety, Security and Safeguards by Design in Small Modular Reactors, which welcomed 76 attendees representing 15 countries, three U.S. national labs, domestic and international industry partners, as well as IAEA officers. 

Profile photo of man in short sleeve button up shirt with blue and grey feather pattern.

Joel Brogan, who leads the Multimodal Sensor Analytics group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elevated to senior membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Members of the target design team pose next to the 2.0-megawatt-capable mercury flow target they developed.

The Proton Power Upgrade project at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source has achieved its final key performance parameter of 1,250 hours of neutron production at 1.7 megawatts of proton beam power on a newly developed target. 

Supriya Chinthavali is standing with the Summit supercomputer at ORNL

The Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, in partnership with ORNL, has launched an experimental platform for energy sector-related data with enhanced emphasis on governance and usability. 

The left/right columns show a time series of the neutron/proton number densities in log scale for a typical fission trajectory. The bar relates the color to the decimal logarithm of the number density.

Researchers used the Summit supercomputer at ORNL to answer one of fission’s big questions: What exactly happens during the nucleus’s “neck rupture” as it splits in two? Scission neutrons have been theorized to be among those particles emitted during neck rupture, although their exact characteristics have been debated due to a lack of conclusive experimental evidence of their existence.