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ORNL researchers have discovered a new type of quantum critical point, a new way in which materials change from one state of matter to another. Featured here are researchers Lekh Poudel (left), Andrew Christianson and Andrew May.
When matter changes from solids to liquids to vapors, the changes are called phase transitions. Among the most interesting types are more exotic changes—quantum phase transitions—where the strange properties of quantum mechanics can bring about extraordinary changes in curious way...
Kai Xiao
Kai Xiao's work as a staff scientist at ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Science gives him access to some of the world’s most powerful tools to investigate materials as small as one-billionth of a meter, or at the nanoscale. He joins multidisciplinary teams to explore a va...
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At the confluence of energy and ecology is where Henriette “Yetta” Jager has found her calling. A senior scientist in the Environmental Sciences Division, Yetta uses models to look for win-win opportunities to produce more energy without harming fish and wildlife. Yetta’s research for the US D...

The Transforming Additive Manufacturing through Exascale Simulation project (ExaAM) is building a new multi-physics modeling and simulation platform for 3D printing of metals

Oak Ridge National Laboratory experts are playing leading roles in the recently established Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Exascale Computing Project (ECP), a multi-lab initiative responsible for developing the strategy, aligning the resources, and conducting the R&D necessary to achieve the nation’s imperative of delivering exascale computing by 2021.

Brian Davison
Brian Davison has advice for anyone planning a long career in science, gleaned from more than three decades in the field: Appreciate the ‘eureka’ moments, both big and small. “You don’t find joy every day in any job, but if I find a moment at least once or twice a month, it make...
Advanced materials take flight in the LEAP engine, featuring ceramic matrix composites developed over a quarter-century by GE with help from DOE and ORNL. Image credit: General Electric

Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials are made of coated ceramic fibers surrounded by a ceramic matrix. They are tough, lightweight and capable of withstanding temperatures 300–400 degrees F hotter than metal alloys can endure. If certain components were made with CMCs instead o...

Brenda Pracheil and Bryan Chakoumakos examine the structure of an otolith under a microscope.
Scientific discovery can come from anywhere, but few researchers can say the answers to their questions would come from the pea-sized bones in the head of a six-foot-long, 200-pound prehistoric freshwater fish. In a unique pairing of biology and neutron science, researchers from...
Adam Makhluf from the University of California, Los Angeles is using neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source to study the fundamental role carbon dioxide plays in Earth’s carbon cycle.
Carbon dioxide is a key component in the carbon cycle of Earth, both in the atmosphere and in the mantle, or hot layer under Earth’s crust. Studies of high pressure, high temperature phases of solid carbon dioxide are important to understand the forms that carbon may adopt at the e...
ORNL bioscience researcher Jerry Tuskan had an early interest in plant genetics.

It’s been 10 years since the Department of Energy first established a BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and researcher Gerald “Jerry” Tuskan has used that time and the lab’s and center’s resources and tools to make good on his college dreams of usi...

SPRUCE experiment enclosure

Deep stores of carbon in northern peatlands may remain stable despite rising temperatures, according to a team of researchers from several U.S.-based institutions. And that is good news for now, the researchers said. Florida State University ...