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Media Contacts
![Mars Rover 2020](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-03/Mars_0.jpg?h=c44fcfa1&itok=gSstQOJO)
More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary Jennifer Granholm in January as part of project teams spanning the national laboratory system. The annual awards recognized 21 teams and three individuals for service and contributions to DOE’s mission and to the benefit of the nation.
![Santa Jansone-Popova, left, and Ilja Popovs quantify rare-earth element concentrations in liquid samples using a spectroscopy instrument. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/2021-P08288_0.jpg?h=10d202d3&itok=5CV3V1zL)
A new technology for rare-earth elements chemical separation has been licensed to Marshallton Research Laboratories, a North Carolina-based manufacturer of organic chemicals for a range of industries.
![Ashleigh Kimberlin and Mikayla Molnar achieve success with a gas-trapping apparatus for Ac-225 production. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/Acgastrapping-1.png?h=71976bb4&itok=TbfsnNxp)
In experiment after experiment, the synthetic radioisotope actinium-225 has shown promise for targeting and attacking certain types of cancer cells.
![ORNL researchers produced self-healable and highly adhesive elastomers, proving they self-repair in ambient conditions and underwater. This project garnered a 2021 R&D 100 Award. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-10/Unbreakable-bond-copy.jpg?h=cd715a88&itok=cQeEYNZn)
Research teams from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their technologies have received seven 2021 R&D 100 Awards, plus special recognition for a COVID-19-related project.
![Former ORNL Director Thom Mason presents Tom Kollie with a National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation on behalf of James Clapper, former director of national intelligence, and the national intelligence community in June 2017. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-09/2017-P04637_1.jpg?h=b6236d98&itok=Riz5mhDe)
A 25-year career with the U.S. Navy, commanding combat missions overseas, brought Tom Kollie back to where he came from — ready to serve his country in a new way.
![Summer Widner, Stephanie Timbs, James Gaugler and James Avenell of ORNL are part of a team that processes thorium-228, a byproduct of actinium-227. As new uses for thorium are realized, particularly in medicine, the lab expects the demand for the radioisotope to grow.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/Part%20of%20Th-228%20Team_1.jpg?h=09b6d1d3&itok=1_l1hx2l)
As a medical isotope, thorium-228 has a lot of potential — and Oak Ridge National Laboratory produces a lot.
![Automated disassembly line aims to make battery recycling safer, faster](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/disassembly.jpg?h=4e81470f&itok=Eg_1yckZ)
Researchers at ORNL have developed a robotic disassembly system for spent electric vehicle battery packs to safely and efficiently recycle and reuse critical materials while reducing toxic waste.
![Initially, Kevin Gaddis’s adapted HPIC will be used only for the fourth of six separations in actinium-225 processing, but he hopes it will later be used for other separations — and other isotopes. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-07/2021-P03893_1.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=DU6L5EUx)
An Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher has invented a version of an isotope-separating device that can withstand extreme environments, including radiation and chemical solvents.
![Balendra Sutharshan](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/2021-P01348.jpg?h=d33ebf6f&itok=qwQNPmu1)
In the mid-1980s, Balendra Sutharshan moved to Canada from the island nation of Sri Lanka. That move set Sutharshan on a path that had him heading continent-spanning collaborations and holding leadership posts at multiple Department of Energy
![ORNL’s green solvent enables environmentally friendly recycling of valuable Li-ion battery materials. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/metal_03.jpg?h=5510f2c5&itok=X9YPqOe5)
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a solvent that results in a more environmentally friendly process to recover valuable materials from used lithium-ion batteries, supports a stable domestic supply chain for new batteries