News

A study found that beaches with manmade fortifications recover more slowly from hurricanes than natural beaches, losing more sand and vegetation. The researchers used satellite images and light detection and ranging data, or LIDAR, to measure elevation changes and vegetation coverage. Changes in elevation showed how much sand was depleted during the storm and how much sand returned throughout the following year. 

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are entering into a memorandum of understanding with the intent to collaborate in efforts to research, develop, deploy and evaluate technology and analytically based solutions to challenges in the area of quantum information science and engineering, including networking, sensing, and computing.

At ORNL, a group of scientists used neutron scattering techniques to investigate a relatively new functional material called a Weyl semimetal. These Weyl fermions move very quickly in a material and can carry electrical charge at room temperature. Scientists think that Weyl semimetals, if used in future electronics, could allow electricity to flow more efficiently and enable more energy-efficient computers and other electronic devices.

Gerald A. Tuskan, a Corporate Fellow and director of the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at ORNL, has been selected as a DOE Distinguished Scientist Fellow, one of the highest honors bestowed by the agency’s Office of Science for outstanding scientific leadership and research community engagement. 

The 26th annual National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering School concluded on August 9, 2024. Each year, more than 200 graduate students in North America studying physics, chemistry, engineering, biological matter and more compete to participate in NXS. However, given limited space, only 60 can be accepted. The school exposes graduate students to neutron and X-ray scattering techniques through lectures, experiments, and tutorials. 

Benjamin Manard, an analytical chemist in the Chemical Sciences Division of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will receive the 2024 Lester W. Strock Award from the Society of Applied Spectroscopy.

Ten future U.S. Army officers recently visited ORNL to learn about the legacy of nuclear science. As students of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Research Center, or NSERC, with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, or DTRA, they stopped in East Tennessee as part of a larger tour across nuclear facilities supporting the military. In Oak Ridge, they visited ORNL to gain an appreciation of the history of the Manhattan Project and how research at a national lab contributes new materials and electronics for the nuclear industry. 

Scientists have determined that a rare element found in some of the oldest solids in the solar system, such as meteorites, and previously thought to have been forged in supernova explosions, actually predate such cosmic events, challenging long-held theories about its origin.

Five researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently completed an eight-week pilot commercialization coaching program as part of Safari, a program funded by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions, or OTT, Practices to Accelerate the Commercialization of Technologies, or PACT. 

In a Q&A, Paula Cable-Dunlap, a leading nuclear nonproliferation expert, discussed being named as an ORNL Corporate Fellow and the impact it will have over her position. With over 30 years of experience, including 18 at Savannah River National Laboratory, she is recognized for her significant contributions and dedication to mentoring.