![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
- (-) Clean Energy (33)
- (-) Neutron Science (13)
- Biological Systems (1)
- Biology and Environment (67)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (1)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computer Science (1)
- Fusion and Fission (15)
- Fusion Energy (5)
- Isotopes (17)
- Materials (17)
- Materials for Computing (2)
- National Security (19)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (13)
- Quantum information Science (4)
- Supercomputing (39)
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (2)
- (-) Biomedical (7)
- (-) Coronavirus (8)
- (-) Cybersecurity (5)
- (-) Environment (21)
- (-) Fossil Energy (2)
- (-) Machine Learning (3)
- (-) Quantum Science (2)
- (-) Space Exploration (2)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (24)
- Artificial Intelligence (6)
- Big Data (1)
- Bioenergy (12)
- Biology (5)
- Biotechnology (1)
- Buildings (11)
- Chemical Sciences (4)
- Clean Water (5)
- Climate Change (8)
- Composites (2)
- Computer Science (13)
- Decarbonization (16)
- Energy Storage (21)
- Grid (13)
- High-Performance Computing (3)
- Materials (9)
- Materials Science (11)
- Mathematics (2)
- Mercury (1)
- Microelectronics (1)
- Microscopy (3)
- Nanotechnology (4)
- National Security (2)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (34)
- Nuclear Energy (3)
- Partnerships (4)
- Physics (1)
- Polymers (2)
- Quantum Computing (1)
- Security (4)
- Simulation (1)
- Summit (4)
- Sustainable Energy (14)
- Transportation (17)
Media Contacts
![Ecosystem Ecologist Verity Salmon captures and analyzes field data from sites in in Alaska and Minnesota to inform earth system models that are being used to predict environmental change.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/Salmon_CreditColleenIversen_0.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=cjwhvth8)
While some of her earth system modeling colleagues at ORNL face challenges such as processor allocation or debugging code, Verity Salmon prepares for mosquito swarms and the possibility of grizzly bears.
![Coronavirus graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/covid19_jh_0.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=PyngFUZw)
In the race to identify solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are joining the fight by applying expertise in computational science, advanced manufacturing, data science and neutron science.
![Researchers discovered the Tennessee cavesnail, Antrorbis tennesseensis, in caves near Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The snail measures in at less than 2 millimeters long. Credit: Nathaniel Shoobs and Matthew Niemiller](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/Cave_snailREV.jpg?h=c96bab7a&itok=6rjc3NQL)
Sometimes conducting big science means discovering a species not much larger than a grain of sand.
![Scientists created a novel polymer that is as effective as natural proteins in transporting protons through a membrane. Credit: ORNL/Jill Hemman](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-03/19-G01195_nature_feature_0.png?h=e4fbc3eb&itok=K8czXmTr)
Biological membranes, such as the “walls” of most types of living cells, primarily consist of a double layer of lipids, or “lipid bilayer,” that forms the structure, and a variety of embedded and attached proteins with highly specialized functions, including proteins that rapidly and selectively transport ions and molecules in and out of the cell.
![Starch granules](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/starchgranules.png?h=0c9ab501&itok=eLsE3JOx)
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to peer deep into the nanostructure of biomaterials without damaging the sample. This novel technique can confirm structural features in starch, a carbohydrate important in biofuel production.
![Examples from the ORNL Overhead Vehicle Dataset, generated with images captured by GRIDSMART cameras. Image: Thomas Karnowski/ORNL](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/truckgrid-corrected-1024x745.png?h=bc62b519&itok=HY9xstgl)
Each year, approximately 6 billion gallons of fuel are wasted as vehicles wait at stop lights or sit in dense traffic with engines idling, according to US Department of Energy estimates.
![Illustration of the optimized zeolite catalyst, or NbAlS-1, which enables a highly efficient chemical reaction to create butene, a renewable source of energy, without expending high amounts of energy for the conversion. Credit: Jill Hemman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-12/19-G01458_Cheng_PR.png?h=14829302&itok=U1YwTrlo)
Illustration of the optimized zeolite catalyst, or NbAlS-1, which enables a highly efficient chemical reaction to create butene, a renewable source of energy, without expending high amounts of energy for the conversion. Credit: Jill Hemman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy
![Catherine Schuman during Hour of Code](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-12/IMG_0136_0.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=56CtnbAH)
ORNL computer scientist Catherine Schuman returned to her alma mater, Harriman High School, to lead Hour of Code activities and talk to students about her job as a researcher.
![The students analyzed diatom images like this one to compare wild and genetically modified strains of these organisms. Credit: Alison Pawlicki/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/RI4362007.png?h=37702503&itok=9lQReLRe)
Students often participate in internships and receive formal training in their chosen career fields during college, but some pursue professional development opportunities even earlier.
![Elizabeth Herndon takes a soil sample at a field site outside Abisko, Sweden in July 2019.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-10/IMG_9356_BethEastPalsaCoring%20%282%29.jpg?h=ffe24dcc&itok=DQO7LfTz)
Elizabeth Herndon believes in going the distance whether she is preparing to compete in the 2020 Olympic marathon trials or examining how metals move through the environment as a geochemist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.