Skip to main content
Photo of glowing, pink diamond-shaped figure. This is illuminated with light, encircled with a wreath of around 70 blue tube-like shapes.

Scientists have uncovered the properties of a rare earth element that was first discovered 80 years ago at the very same laboratory, opening a new pathway for the exploration of elements critical in modern technology, from medicine to space travel.

The 2023 Billion-Ton Report identifies feedstocks that could be available to produce biofuels to decarbonize the transportation and industrial sectors while potentially tripling the U.S. bioeconomy. The map indicates a mature market scenario, including emerging resources. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy

The United States could triple its current bioeconomy by producing more than 1 billion tons per year of plant-based biomass for renewable fuels, while meeting projected demands for food, feed, fiber, conventional forest products and exports, according to the DOE’s latest Billion-Ton Report led by ORNL.

ORNL

Two different teams that included Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees were honored Feb. 20 with Secretary’s Honor Achievement Awards from the Department of Energy. This is DOE's highest form of employee recognition. 

2023 Battelle Distinguished Inventors

Four scientists affiliated with ORNL were named Battelle Distinguished Inventors during the lab’s annual Innovation Awards on Dec. 1 in recognition of being granted 14 or more United States patents.

Susan Hubbard, ORNL’s deputy for science and technology and Quincy Quick, TSU’s associate vice president for Research and Sponsored Programs, sign a memorandum of understanding to strengthen research cooperation and provide diverse undergraduate students enriching educational research opportunities at the lab. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Tennessee State University have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen research cooperation and provide diverse undergraduate students enriching educational research opportunities at the lab.

Susan Hubbard, ORNL’s deputy for science and technology and Can (John) Saygin, senior vice president for research and dean of the graduate college at UTRGV, sign a memorandum of understanding to strengthen research cooperation and establish a collaborative program for undergraduate research and education. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, known as UTRGV, have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen research cooperation and establish a collaborative program for undergraduate research and education, further cementing hi

Susan Hubbard, diputada de Ciencia y Tecnología en ORNL, Can (John) Saygin, vicepresidente mayor de investigación y decano del Colegio de la Escuela de Postgrados en UTGRV, firman un Memorándum de Entendimiento comprometiéndose a fortalecer la cooperación en la investigación científica y establecer un programa colaborativo para estudiantes de pregrado. Crédito de la fotografía: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Susan Hubbard, diputada de Ciencia y Tecnología en ORNL, Can (John) Saygin, vicepresidente mayor de investigación y decano del Colegio de la Escuela de Postgrados en UTGRV, firman un Memorándum de Entendimiento comprometiéndose a fortalecer

ORNL researchers, from left, Yang Liu, Xiaohan Yang and Torik Islam, collaborated on the development of a new capability to insert multiple genes simultaneously for fast, efficient transformation of plants into better bioenergy feedstocks. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

In a discovery aimed at accelerating the development of process-advantaged crops for jet biofuels, scientists at ORNL developed a capability to insert multiple genes into plants in a single step.

ytterbium

ORNL’s electromagnetic isotope separator, or EMIS, made history in 2018 when it produced 500 milligrams of the rare isotope ruthenium-96, unavailable anywhere else in the world. 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory led a team of scientists to design a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and future virus outbreaks. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.