![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
- (-) Biology and Environment (53)
- (-) Clean Energy (76)
- (-) Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- (-) National Security (44)
- (-) Supercomputing (65)
- Advanced Manufacturing (1)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (2)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Computer Science (5)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (3)
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (1)
- Fusion and Fission (9)
- Fusion Energy (7)
- Isotopes (2)
- Materials (86)
- Materials for Computing (11)
- Mathematics (1)
- Neutron Science (26)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (13)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (9)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (8)
- (-) Climate Change (69)
- (-) Grid (47)
- (-) Nanotechnology (18)
- (-) National Security (38)
- (-) Physics (9)
- (-) Quantum Science (26)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (83)
- Artificial Intelligence (52)
- Big Data (33)
- Bioenergy (66)
- Biology (82)
- Biomedical (32)
- Biotechnology (17)
- Buildings (37)
- Chemical Sciences (20)
- Clean Water (19)
- Composites (19)
- Computer Science (123)
- Coronavirus (33)
- Critical Materials (12)
- Cybersecurity (28)
- Decarbonization (49)
- Energy Storage (76)
- Environment (145)
- Exascale Computing (25)
- Fossil Energy (2)
- Frontier (28)
- Fusion (4)
- High-Performance Computing (54)
- Hydropower (9)
- Isotopes (2)
- Machine Learning (30)
- Materials (50)
- Materials Science (44)
- Mathematics (5)
- Mercury (10)
- Microelectronics (1)
- Microscopy (20)
- Molten Salt (1)
- Net Zero (6)
- Neutron Science (24)
- Nuclear Energy (15)
- Partnerships (16)
- Polymers (14)
- Quantum Computing (19)
- Renewable Energy (2)
- Security (17)
- Simulation (25)
- Software (1)
- Space Exploration (6)
- Statistics (1)
- Summit (47)
- Sustainable Energy (94)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (72)
Media Contacts
![ORNL intern Jack Orebaugh holds the drone used in his research to help locate human remains. Credit: Lena Shoemaker/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2024-01/jack.jpg?h=0261ddcd&itok=yZ9N5dAh)
Jack Orebaugh, a forensic anthropology major at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a big heart for families with missing loved ones. When someone disappears in an area of dense vegetation, search and recovery efforts can be difficult, especially when a missing person’s last location is unknown. Recognizing the agony of not knowing what happened to a family or friend, Orebaugh decided to use his internship at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to find better ways to search for lost and deceased people using cameras and drones.
![ORNL retiree Duane Starr and his wife, Nancy, pose with the critical frequencies demo unit Duane designed, built and donated to the laboratory to support nuclear workshops. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-12/2023-P06566.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=tIETe2jc)
For years, Duane Starr led workshops at ORNL to help others from across the U.S. government understand uranium processing technologies. After his retirement, Starr donated a 5-foot-tall working model, built in his garage, that demonstrates vibration harmonics, consistent with operation of a super critical gas centrifuge rotor, a valuable resource to ongoing ORNL-led workshops.
![A new method for analyzing climate models brings together information from various lines of evidence to represent Earth’s climate sensitivity. Credit: Jason Smith/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/climate-models.png?h=b655f2ac&itok=l5A4_3yJ)
Researchers from institutions including ORNL have created a new method for statistically analyzing climate models that projects future conditions with more fidelity.
![ORNL researchers are establishing a digital thread of data, algorithms and workflows to produce a continuously updated model of earth systems.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%2823%29_0.png?h=c6980913&itok=cK99Pg3y)
Digital twins are exactly what they sound like: virtual models of physical reality that continuously update to reflect changes in the real world.
![ORNL’s Climate Change Science Institute and Georgia Tech co-hosted a Southeast Decarbonization Workshop in November 2023. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/GaWorkshop_Decarb_Nov2023.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=2CsciglE)
ORNL's Climate Change Science Institute and the Georgia Institute of Technology hosted a Southeast Decarbonization Workshop in November that drew scientists and representatives from government, industry, non-profits and other organizations to
![Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory contributed to several chapters of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, providing expertise in complex ecosystem processes, energy systems, human dynamics, computational science and Earth-scale modeling. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/EarthSystem_2023NCA5.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=r043oHRM)
Scientists at ORNL used their knowledge of complex ecosystem processes, energy systems, human dynamics, computational science and Earth-scale modeling to inform the nation’s latest National Climate Assessment, which draws attention to vulnerabilities and resilience opportunities in every region of the country.
![Frontier’s exascale power enables the Energy, Exascale and Earth System Model-Multiscale Modeling Framework — or E3SM-MMF — project to run years’ worth of climate simulations at unprecedented speed and scale. Credit: Mark Taylor/Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/E3SM-MMF.png?h=21f5ce54&itok=UAeMXyqa)
The world’s first exascale supercomputer will help scientists peer into the future of global climate change and open a window into weather patterns that could affect the world a generation from now.
![Christian Salvador is studying natural and manmade aerosols at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to improve our understanding of how atmospheric pollutants affect ecosystems and the Earth’s climate. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/2023-P15089.jpg?h=fb74aedc&itok=wWNrlG0z)
While completing his undergraduate studies in the Philippines, atmospheric chemist Christian Salvador caught a glimpse of the horizon. What he saw concerned him: a thin, black line hovering above the city.
![An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, can be triggered by a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere or by an electromagnetic generator in a vehicle or aircraft. Here’s the chain of reactions it could cause to harm electrical equipment on the ground. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/EMP_illust04_0.png?h=21cd0a81&itok=M9UNd-n0)
Researchers at ORNL have been leading a project to understand how a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, could threaten power plants.
![red and green sphagnum moss](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/2022-P05000_0.jpg?h=971886de&itok=7xwMranw)
A type of peat moss has surprised scientists with its climate resilience: Sphagnum divinum is actively speciating in response to hot, dry conditions.