![Sphere that has the top right fourth removed (exposed) Colors from left are orange, dark blue with orange dots, light blue with horizontal lines, then black. Inside the exposure is green and black with boxes.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_square_large/public/2024-06/slicer.jpg?h=56311bf6&itok=bCZz09pJ)
Filter News
Area of Research
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Bioenergy (13)
- (-) Composites (3)
- (-) Frontier (4)
- (-) Physics (7)
- (-) Sustainable Energy (13)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (2)
- Artificial Intelligence (4)
- Big Data (5)
- Biology (17)
- Biomedical (4)
- Biotechnology (2)
- Buildings (4)
- Chemical Sciences (4)
- Clean Water (2)
- Climate Change (22)
- Computer Science (14)
- Coronavirus (3)
- Cybersecurity (5)
- Decarbonization (14)
- Energy Storage (3)
- Environment (25)
- Exascale Computing (3)
- Fusion (7)
- Grid (4)
- High-Performance Computing (7)
- Hydropower (3)
- Isotopes (4)
- ITER (1)
- Machine Learning (4)
- Materials (8)
- Materials Science (11)
- Mercury (1)
- Microscopy (10)
- Molten Salt (1)
- Nanotechnology (7)
- National Security (7)
- Net Zero (2)
- Neutron Science (5)
- Nuclear Energy (8)
- Partnerships (1)
- Polymers (4)
- Quantum Computing (5)
- Quantum Science (4)
- Security (5)
- Simulation (3)
- Space Exploration (1)
- Summit (4)
- Transportation (7)
Media Contacts
![ORNL physicist Libby Johnson demonstrated a new control panel at ORNL’s Bulk Shielding Facility in 1957. Among the first females to operate a nuclear reactor, Johnson blazed trails for women. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/Johnson_1.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=JUg5qoxV)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory physicist Elizabeth “Libby” Johnson (1921-1996), one of the world’s first nuclear reactor operators, standardized the field of criticality safety with peers from ORNL and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
![Scientists at ORNL have created a rhizosphere-on-a-chip research platform, a miniaturized environment to study the ecosystem around poplar tree roots for insights into plant health and soil carbon sequestration. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-08/Rhizosphere%20on%20a%20chip_thumbnail.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=KImuFYmF)
Scientists at ORNL have created a miniaturized environment to study the ecosystem around poplar tree roots for insights into plant health and soil carbon sequestration.
![Samarthya Bhagia examines a sample of a thermoplastic composite material additively manufactured using poplar wood and polylactic acid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-07/2022-P03486.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=sdSfzVet)
Chemical and environmental engineer Samarthya Bhagia is focused on achieving carbon neutrality and a circular economy by designing new plant-based materials for a range of applications from energy storage devices and sensors to environmentally friendly bioplastics.
![ORNL mechanical engineer Marm Dixit focuses his research on solid-state batteries and their potential use in electric vehicles. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-07/2022-P00549.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=lWzasKTC)
Mechanical engineer Marm Dixit’s work is all about getting electricity to flow efficiently from one end of a solid-state battery to the other. It’s a high-stakes problem
![Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy, a nondestructive technique in which the tip of the probe of a microscope scatters pulses of light to generate a picture of a sample, allowed the team to obtain insights into the composition of plant cell walls. Credit: Ali Passian/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/Picture1_0.jpg?h=da2f9885&itok=_QN9qoqF)
To optimize biomaterials for reliable, cost-effective paper production, building construction, and biofuel development, researchers often study the structure of plant cells using techniques such as freezing plant samples or placing them in a vacuum.
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Mitch Allmond works with the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams Decay Station initiator, which combined diverse detectors for FRIB’s first experiment. Credit: Robert Grzywacz/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/FRIB1.jpg?h=429981e8&itok=sFq0uTlk)
Two decades in the making, a new flagship facility for nuclear physics opened on May 2, and scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have a hand in 10 of its first 34 experiments.
![A team of fusion scientists and engineers stand in front of ORNL’s Helium Flow Loop device. From back left to front right: Chris Crawford, Fayaz Rasheed, Joy Fan, Michael Morrow, Charles Kessel, Adam Carroll, and Cody Wiggins. Not pictured: Dennis Youchison and Monica Gehrig. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/2022-P01898.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=SoSOip2u)
To achieve practical energy from fusion, extreme heat from the fusion system “blanket” component must be extracted safely and efficiently. ORNL fusion experts are exploring how tiny 3D-printed obstacles placed inside the narrow pipes of a custom-made cooling system could be a solution for removing heat from the blanket.
![Jim Szybist, Propulsion Science section head at ORNL, is applying his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/Picture1_6.jpg?h=b67478d5&itok=3BWDWSU8)
What’s getting Jim Szybist fired up these days? It’s the opportunity to apply his years of alternative fuel combustion and thermodynamics research to the challenge of cleaning up the hard-to-decarbonize, heavy-duty mobility sector — from airplanes to locomotives to ships and massive farm combines.
![Earth Day](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/Earth%20image.png?h=8f74817f&itok=5rQ_su9Z)
Tackling the climate crisis and achieving an equitable clean energy future are among the biggest challenges of our time.
![Andrew Sutton joined ORNL in 2020 to guide a newly formed team that focuses on chemical process scale-up in advanced manufacturing. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/2022-P01204.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=n2ca9jZz)
When Andrew Sutton arrived at ORNL in late 2020, he knew the move would be significant in more ways than just a change in location.