![Prasanna Balaprakash](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_square_large/public/2024-08/2023-P02525.jpg?h=502e75fa&itok=ePVQC-A5)
Filter News
Area of Research
- Biological Systems (1)
- Biology and Environment (12)
- Clean Energy (40)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (1)
- Fusion and Fission (3)
- Isotopes (5)
- Materials (15)
- Materials for Computing (4)
- National Security (9)
- Neutron Science (10)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (2)
- Quantum information Science (4)
- Supercomputing (20)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Biomedical (30)
- (-) Composites (9)
- (-) Energy Storage (35)
- (-) Grid (27)
- (-) Molten Salt (1)
- (-) Polymers (11)
- (-) Quantum Science (31)
- (-) Security (12)
- (-) Space Exploration (12)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (46)
- Advanced Reactors (9)
- Artificial Intelligence (49)
- Big Data (30)
- Bioenergy (52)
- Biology (61)
- Biotechnology (13)
- Buildings (25)
- Chemical Sciences (28)
- Clean Water (15)
- Climate Change (54)
- Computer Science (92)
- Coronavirus (18)
- Critical Materials (5)
- Cybersecurity (14)
- Decarbonization (50)
- Education (1)
- Emergency (2)
- Environment (110)
- Exascale Computing (27)
- Fossil Energy (4)
- Frontier (26)
- Fusion (33)
- High-Performance Computing (45)
- Hydropower (5)
- Isotopes (28)
- ITER (2)
- Machine Learning (23)
- Materials (44)
- Materials Science (55)
- Mathematics (7)
- Mercury (7)
- Microelectronics (2)
- Microscopy (23)
- Nanotechnology (20)
- National Security (42)
- Net Zero (8)
- Neutron Science (50)
- Nuclear Energy (60)
- Partnerships (19)
- Physics (35)
- Quantum Computing (21)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Simulation (32)
- Software (1)
- Statistics (1)
- Summit (31)
- Sustainable Energy (50)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (32)
Media Contacts
![Diagram of faults affecting a conventional power system.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/23-G04595-line-faults-pcg_0.jpg?h=d48ba2e6&itok=Gc2T0Rmr)
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are leading the way in understanding the effects of electrical faults in the modern U.S. power grid.
![Jonathan Harter, a technical professional in ORNL’s Engineering Science and Technology Directorate, uses a robot and other automated methods to disassemble electric vehicle batteries for recycling or reuse in the electric grid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/2021-P06328_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=elZeutaQ)
After being stabilized in an ambulance as he struggled to breathe, Jonathan Harter hit a low point. It was 2020, he was very sick with COVID-19, and his job as a lab technician at ORNL was ending along with his research funding.
![Mirko Musa was always fascinated by the power of rivers, specifically how these mighty waterways sculpt landscapes. Now, as a water power researcher, he’s finding ways to harness that power and protect rivers at the same time. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/mirkomusa_2023-p05038.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=3Az47BKS)
Mirko Musa spent his childhood zigzagging his bike along the Po River. The Po, Italy’s longest river, cuts through a lush valley of grain and vegetable fields, which look like a green and gold ocean spreading out from the river’s banks.
![ORNL researchers found that a battery anode film, made by Navitas Systems using a dry process, was strong and flexible. These characteristics make a lithium-ion battery safer and more durable. Credit: Navitas Systems](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-07/Dry-Process%20Anode.horizontal.Navitas_0.jpg?h=86ae50b6&itok=zgdHv3Ls)
Early experiments at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have revealed significant benefits to a dry battery manufacturing process. This eliminates the use of solvents and is more affordable, while showing promise for delivering a battery that is durable, less weighed down by inactive elements, and able to maintain a high capacity after use.
![small power module](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P08143_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=Si2ShyhX)
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are supporting the grid by improving its smallest building blocks: power modules that act as digital switches.
![Tristen Mullins. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/mullins_0.jpg?h=dab30fcb&itok=dsFGJyMz)
Tristen Mullins enjoys the hidden side of computers. As a signals processing engineer for ORNL, she tries to uncover information hidden in components used on the nation’s power grid — information that may be susceptible to cyberattacks.
![Mali Balasubramanian made a rewarding mid-career shift to focus on studying new battery materials and systems using X-ray spectroscopy and other methods. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/Balasubramanian.portrait_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=pK7rBnui)
Having passed the midpoint of his career, physicist Mali Balasubramanian was part of a tight-knit team at a premier research facility for X-ray spectroscopy. But then another position opened, at ORNL— one that would take him in a new direction.
For the third year in a row, the Quantum Science Center held its signature workforce development event: a comprehensive summer school for students and early-career scientists designed to facilitate conversations and hands-on activities related to
![Tomonori Saito, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Inventor of the Year, was honored at Battelle’s Celebration of Solvers. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/2022-P11389.jpg?h=04df159e&itok=ptAD9rQS)
Tomonori Saito, a distinguished innovator in the field of polymer science and senior R&D staff member at ORNL, was honored on May 11 in Columbus, Ohio, at Battelle’s Celebration of Solvers.
![ORNL researchers encoded grid hardware operating data into a color band hidden inside photographs, video or artwork, as shown in this photo. The visual can then be transmitted to a utility’s control center for decoding. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/Color%20bar.ORNL_.jpg?h=a49d782d&itok=eX3P5GZU)
Inspired by one of the mysteries of human perception, an ORNL researcher invented a new way to hide sensitive electric grid information from cyberattack: within a constantly changing color palette.