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Kevin (left) and Ryan (right) Gaddis are grandsons of Glen Ellis, who worked as a draftsman at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1960s and drew the plans for NASA’s contingency soil sampler, or “moon scoop,” used to collect lunar soil and rock on the Apollo missions. The brothers both work at ORNL. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Just minutes after taking one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, Neil Armstrong deviated from NASA’s meticulously crafted flight plan for the Apollo 11 mission. According to NASA’s lunar surface operations plan, Armstrong’s top priority after his famous first steps should have been to immediately take a contingency sample—a small sample of soil—to provide scientists at least a piece of the moon if the mission had to be abandoned early.

Larry Allard

Larry Allard, distinguished research staff member at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the 2019 Microanalysis Society Presidential Science Award.

Bruce Moyer

Bruce Moyer, leader of the Chemical Separations group in the Chemical Sciences Division at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has won the 2019 Glenn T. Seaborg Award from the Actinide Separations Board.

Materials—Soft drink science

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has teamed with Cornell College and the University of Tennessee to study ways to repurpose waste soft drinks for carbon capture that could help cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Quantum—Widening the net

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory studying quantum communications have discovered a more practical way to share secret messages among three parties, which could ultimately lead to better cybersecurity for the electric grid 

Computing—Building a brain

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are taking inspiration from neural networks to create computers that mimic the human brain—a quickly growing field known as neuromorphic computing.

Batteries—Polymers that bind

A team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated that designed synthetic polymers can serve as a high-performance binding material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

Nuclear—More than the core

Researchers have developed high-fidelity modeling capabilities for predicting radiation interactions outside of the reactor core—a tool that could help keep nuclear reactors running longer.

Alex Johs at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source

Sometimes solutions to the biggest problems can be found in the smallest details. The work of biochemist Alex Johs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory bears this out, as he focuses on understanding protein structures and molecular interactions to resolve complex global problems like the spread of mercury pollution in waterways and the food supply.

Researchers from NIST and the University of Maryland standing in front of the Bio-SANS equipment.

Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland are using neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to capture new information about DNA and RNA molecules and enable more accurate computer simulations of how they interact with everything from proteins to viruses.