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Solar cells based on cadmium and tellurium could move closer to theoretical levels of efficiency because of some sleuthing by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s PenDoc makes sampling the surface of a strawberry for pesticides, for example, quick and easy.
Mass spectrometry and direct sampling come together in a powerful way with a new technology that can identify a material in mere seconds. PenDoc, invented by Gary Van Berkel and Vilmos Kertesz of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, could help in drug discovery, medical diagnostics, food ...
By wet-sieving stream sediment, (from left) Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Kenneth Lowe, Melanie Mayes and John Dickson sort sediment into different particle size in this stream near Rocky Top.

An Oak Ridge National Laboratory study is providing an unprecedented watershed-scale understanding of mercury in soils and sediments. Researchers focused on evaluating mercury and soil properties along the banks of a mercury-contaminated stream in Oak Ridge, Tenn., sampling 145 loca...

The SaltX heating system offers better efficiency than today’s best furnaces and a potential payback of just three to four years.

Salt and ammonia are key ingredients of a high-efficiency natural gas-fired heat pump system being developed by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Rheem and ClimateWell. Potentially, the SaltX system could provide 43 percent greater efficiency than today’s best furn...

As a doctoral student Susan Hogle interned at ORNL's Radiochemical Engineering Development Center.
Susan Hogle has spent the last several years working to improve the production of radioisotopes, particularly californium-252. But not long ago, the native of Napanee, Canada, was working on the opposite task—researching how to dispose of nuclear material. “At Chalk River Laborat...
A new ORNL-developed method pinpoints electrical service areas across the southern United States most vulnerable to climate change and predicted population growth, which could inform decision makers about future substation needs.

Climate and energy scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to pinpoint which electrical service areas will be most vulnerable as populations grow and temperatures rise. 

Flora Meilleur (middle) works with teachers participating in her project, helping them mix the protein solution lysozyme with a salt solution to form a crystal. The teachers mix the solutions in various concentrations and ratios and observe the results.
Summer break for a group of science educators and students means hands-on research in high-heat plasmas, supercomputer construction, biofuels and more, thanks to the annual Math-Science-Technology Institute held at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The program, a partnership among OR...
ORNL will lend computational resources such as its Titan supercomputer to support the Cancer Moonshot effort.

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory will add its computational know-how to the battle against cancer through several new projects recently announced at the White House Cancer Moonshot Summit. 

OLCF Vimeo Screenshot

While trying to fatten the atom in 1938, German chemist Otto Hahn accidentally split it instead. This surprising discovery put modern science on the fast track to the atomic age and to the realization of technologies with profound potential for great harm or great help. Altho...

Bryan Chakoumakos
Bryan Chakoumakos, a researcher at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected fellow of the American Crystallographic Association. Chakoumakos, who leads the Structure of Matter group in the Quantum Condensed Matter Division, has b...