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![Xunxiang Hu, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division, designed this machine to produce large, crack-free pieces of yttrium hydride to be used as a moderator in the core of ORNL’s Transformational Challenge Reactor and other microreactors. Credit: Xunxiang Hu/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-09/HuYHxphoto.jpg?h=eef83f16&itok=7KfkqQLh)
About 60 years ago, scientists discovered that a certain rare earth metal-hydrogen mixture, yttrium, could be the ideal moderator to go inside small, gas-cooled nuclear reactors.
![3D printed EMPOWER wall drawing](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/EMP_WALL11.jpg?h=1d9512c1&itok=3Q-UnrTY)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers used additive manufacturing to build a first-of-its kind smart wall called EMPOWER.
![Drawing of skyrmions spins](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Skyrmion%20-%20v12%20%28NEW%20image%20from%20HNL%29_0.jpg?h=df0a286c&itok=qHEwvGTR)
Scientists discovered a strategy for layering dissimilar crystals with atomic precision to control the size of resulting magnetic quasi-particles called skyrmions.
![Fuel pellets sometimes degrade to a sandlike consistency and can disperse into the reactor core if a rod’s cladding bursts. ORNL researchers are studying how often this happens and what impact it has, in order to let reactors operate as long as possible without increasing risk.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/X2001338_FuelFragmentation_GraphicUpdate_Bumpus_jnj-02_0.jpg?h=049a2720&itok=mzNfF2cS)
A developing method to gauge the occurrence of a nuclear reactor anomaly has the potential to save millions of dollars.
![Simulation of short polymer chains](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Screen%20Shot%202020-07-27%20at%202.46.08%20PM_0.png?h=fc4031ca&itok=DVcIeNaW)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have discovered a cost-effective way to significantly improve the mechanical performance of common polymer nanocomposite materials.
![Cations between layers of MXene](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Cations_holistic_study_0.png?h=de4bb2b8&itok=gX7Dgpbe)
A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a novel, integrated approach to track energy-transporting ions within an ultra-thin material, which could unlock its energy storage potential leading toward faster charging, longer-lasting devices.
![3D-printed 316L steel has been irradiated along with traditionally wrought steel samples. Researchers are comparing how they perform at various temperatures and varying doses of radiation. Credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/X2001337_TCR_IrradiatedMaterials_Bumpus_jnj-04.jpg?h=e3a8e2b5&itok=pXslTCBN)
It’s a new type of nuclear reactor core. And the materials that will make it up are novel — products of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s advanced materials and manufacturing technologies.
![3D-printed intensified device](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/2019-P16563_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=zp8oaqVN)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have designed and additively manufactured a first-of-its-kind aluminum device that enhances the capture of carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuel plants and other industrial processes.
![William Peter](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/2017-P06951_0.jpg?h=c74750f6&itok=KrJNg4MJ)
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers, known as SME, has named William Peter, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, among its 2020 College of SME Fellows.
![VERA’s tools allow a virtual window inside the reactor core, down to a molecular level.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Godfrey_2d_pin_power.png?h=507248e9&itok=SIcNrXUE)
As CASL ends and transitions to VERA Users Group, ORNL looks at the history of the program and its impact on the nuclear industry.