![This photo is of a male scientist sitting at a desk working with materials, wearing protective glasses.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_square_large/public/2024-07/2023-P08173.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=LnJLvflD)
Filter News
Area of Research
- Advanced Manufacturing (6)
- Biology and Environment (6)
- Clean Energy (23)
- Fusion and Fission (4)
- Fusion Energy (7)
- Isotopes (19)
- Materials (42)
- Materials for Computing (10)
- National Security (10)
- Neutron Science (12)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (13)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (1)
- Supercomputing (25)
- Transportation Systems (1)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (21)
- (-) Cybersecurity (17)
- (-) Exascale Computing (28)
- (-) Isotopes (32)
- (-) Materials Science (80)
- (-) Space Exploration (22)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (73)
- Artificial Intelligence (61)
- Big Data (44)
- Bioenergy (67)
- Biology (78)
- Biomedical (40)
- Biotechnology (14)
- Buildings (38)
- Chemical Sciences (35)
- Clean Water (27)
- Climate Change (72)
- Composites (17)
- Computer Science (127)
- Coronavirus (28)
- Critical Materials (16)
- Decarbonization (55)
- Education (1)
- Emergency (2)
- Energy Storage (60)
- Environment (147)
- Fossil Energy (5)
- Frontier (26)
- Fusion (40)
- Grid (46)
- High-Performance Computing (56)
- Hydropower (11)
- Irradiation (2)
- ITER (5)
- Machine Learning (33)
- Materials (78)
- Mathematics (9)
- Mercury (10)
- Microelectronics (2)
- Microscopy (31)
- Molten Salt (6)
- Nanotechnology (28)
- National Security (42)
- Net Zero (10)
- Neutron Science (74)
- Nuclear Energy (74)
- Partnerships (19)
- Physics (33)
- Polymers (17)
- Quantum Computing (25)
- Quantum Science (40)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (12)
- Simulation (39)
- Software (1)
- Statistics (2)
- Summit (37)
- Sustainable Energy (92)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (62)
Media Contacts
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have developed an experiment for testing potential materials for use in interplanetary travel. The experiment exposes prototype materials to temperatures over 2,400 degrees Celsius with only 300 watts of input electrical power. Credit: Carlos Jones, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/2019-P14907%5B2%5D_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=qX3QY9Pm)
If humankind reaches Mars this century, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-developed experiment testing advanced materials for spacecraft may play a key role.
![Snapshot of total temperature distribution at supersonic speed of mach 2.4. Total temperature allows the team to visualize the extent of the exhaust plumes as the temperature of the plumes is much greater than that of the surrounding atmosphere. Credit: NASA](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-10/srp%20%282%29_0.png?h=acf3b215&itok=Z3C6l3YP)
The type of vehicle that will carry people to the Red Planet is shaping up to be “like a two-story house you’re trying to land on another planet.
![Fusion—Heating the core](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-10/Laser_alignment_inside_Proto-MPEX_ORNL.jpg?h=bc1495f5&itok=9Pf5qxXy)
In a recent study, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory performed experiments in a prototype fusion reactor materials testing facility to develop a method that uses microwaves to raise the plasma’s temperature closer to the extreme values
![Salting the gears](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-09/Salting-the-gears_1_0.png?h=b00637a2&itok=gsk3DeGh)
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory proved that a certain class of ionic liquids, when mixed with commercially available oils, can make gears run more efficiently with less noise and better durability.
![Layering on the strength](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-09/Z-pinning-printed%20wall_ORNL-2_0.png?h=c8a62123&itok=EnqQdQih)
A team including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Tennessee researchers demonstrated a novel 3D printing approach called Z-pinning that can increase the material’s strength and toughness by more than three and a half times compared to conventional additive manufacturing processes.
![Tyler Gerczak, a materials scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is focused on post-irradiation examination and separate effects testing of current fuels for light water reactors and advanced fuel types that could be used in future nuclear systems. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-09/2019-P08075.jpg?h=c57df109&itok=tyDu6ny-)
Ask Tyler Gerczak to find a negative in working at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and his only complaint is the summer weather. It is not as forgiving as the summers in Pulaski, Wisconsin, his hometown.
![Tungsten tiles for fusion](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-07/EBM-tungsten_tiles_ORNL.png?h=0c890573&itok=XgIsl0tA)
Using additive manufacturing, scientists experimenting with tungsten at Oak Ridge National Laboratory hope to unlock new potential of the high-performance heat-transferring material used to protect components from the plasma inside a fusion reactor. Fusion requires hydrogen isotopes to reach millions of degrees.
![Galactic wind simulation](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-07/Robertson%5B2%5D.png?h=319b3f54&itok=jK6lUXEt)
Using the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a team of astrophysicists created a set of galactic wind simulations of the highest resolution ever performed. The simulations will allow researchers to gather and interpret more accurate, detailed data that elucidates how galactic winds affect the formation and evolution of galaxies.
![Desalination process](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-07/hydrophopicDesal04_0.jpg?h=5473d993&itok=bUBkpGOa)
A new method developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory improves the energy efficiency of a desalination process known as solar-thermal evaporation.
![Materials—Soft drink science](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-06/Soda%20Science%20v3%20no%20text_0.jpg?h=42d864b6&itok=-KY8_1WA)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has teamed with Cornell College and the University of Tennessee to study ways to repurpose waste soft drinks for carbon capture that could help cut carbon dioxide emissions.