![Man in blue button down shirt poses outside for a picture with his arms crossed.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_square_large/public/2024-07/Troy_Carter_headshot.jpeg?h=8a7fc05e&itok=VFmZIzHo)
Filter News
Area of Research
- Advanced Manufacturing (4)
- Biology and Environment (20)
- Building Technologies (2)
- Clean Energy (37)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (1)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (6)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Fusion Energy (6)
- Materials (7)
- Materials for Computing (3)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (1)
- Neutron Science (2)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (10)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (3)
- Supercomputing (9)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Clean Water (13)
- (-) Climate Change (22)
- (-) Exascale Computing (1)
- (-) Machine Learning (11)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (19)
- (-) Quantum Science (10)
- (-) Sustainable Energy (45)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (31)
- Advanced Reactors (13)
- Artificial Intelligence (13)
- Big Data (17)
- Bioenergy (16)
- Biology (18)
- Biomedical (11)
- Biotechnology (3)
- Buildings (19)
- Chemical Sciences (10)
- Composites (9)
- Computer Science (40)
- Coronavirus (11)
- Critical Materials (12)
- Cybersecurity (3)
- Decarbonization (9)
- Energy Storage (31)
- Environment (43)
- Fossil Energy (1)
- Frontier (1)
- Fusion (9)
- Grid (21)
- High-Performance Computing (11)
- Hydropower (6)
- Irradiation (2)
- Isotopes (5)
- ITER (3)
- Materials (35)
- Materials Science (34)
- Mathematics (2)
- Mercury (3)
- Microscopy (11)
- Molten Salt (5)
- Nanotechnology (12)
- National Security (3)
- Net Zero (2)
- Neutron Science (27)
- Partnerships (1)
- Physics (4)
- Polymers (9)
- Quantum Computing (4)
- Security (1)
- Simulation (7)
- Space Exploration (10)
- Statistics (1)
- Summit (6)
- Transportation (35)
Media Contacts
![Nuclear – Finally, a benchmark](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-05/67051_0.jpg?h=add82d74&itok=xR-EnPtz)
In the 1960s, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's four-year Molten Salt Reactor Experiment tested the viability of liquid fuel reactors for commercial power generation. Results from that historic experiment recently became the basis for the first-ever molten salt reactor benchmark.
![Nuclear — Seeing inside particles](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/Kernels-nuclear%20materials-2_0.jpg?h=ae51ec69&itok=_AWiopZz)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers working on neutron imaging capabilities for nuclear materials have developed a process for seeing the inside of uranium particles – without cutting them open.
![ORNL researchers developed sodium-ion batteries by pairing a high-energy oxide or phosphate cathode with a hard carbon anode and achieved 100 usage cycles at a one-hour charge and discharge rate. Credit: Mengya Li/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/Sodium-ion_batteries_thumb.jpg?h=d91dfa5a&itok=gPCNMJ6R)
Researchers at ORNL demonstrated that sodium-ion batteries can serve as a low-cost, high performance substitute for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries commonly used in robotics, power tools, and grid-scale energy storage.
![This simulation of a fusion plasma calculation result shows the interaction of two counter-streaming beams of super-heated gas. Credit: David L. Green/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/Fusion_plasma_simulation.jpg?h=d0852d1e&itok=CDWgjLPL)
The prospect of simulating a fusion plasma is a step closer to reality thanks to a new computational tool developed by scientists in fusion physics, computer science and mathematics at ORNL.
![Geothermal energy storage system](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/Geothermal_graphic_0.jpg?h=f9060f2b&itok=W6LxcJwG)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers created a geothermal energy storage system that could reduce peak electricity demand up to 37% in homes while helping balance grid operations.
![Smart Neighborhood homes](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/04.09.TD-SMartHome_0.jpg?h=5b5a5437&itok=22S5Tle1)
To better determine the potential energy cost savings among connected homes, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a computer simulation to more accurately compare energy use on similar weather days.
![Argon pellet injection text](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/13966_Ar_20degree_enhanced_0.jpg?h=8450e950&itok=tmff0GX_)
As scientists study approaches to best sustain a fusion reactor, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory investigated injecting shattered argon pellets into a super-hot plasma, when needed, to protect the reactor’s interior wall from high-energy runaway electrons.
![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.
![Motion sensing technology](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-07/Coin-spin-ORNL.jpg?h=dbfb0746&itok=LtrLTeNM)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is training next-generation cameras called dynamic vision sensors, or DVS, to interpret live information—a capability that has applications in robotics and could improve autonomous vehicle sensing.
![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.