![White car (Porsche Taycan) with the hood popped is inside the building with an american flag on the wall.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_square_large/public/2024-06/2024-P09317.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=m6sQhZRq)
Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Biology and Environment (69)
- (-) Computer Science (7)
- Advanced Manufacturing (3)
- Biological Systems (2)
- Clean Energy (83)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (1)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (3)
- Functional Materials for Energy (1)
- Fusion and Fission (8)
- Fusion Energy (8)
- Materials (25)
- Materials for Computing (2)
- National Security (22)
- Neutron Science (14)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (12)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (2)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (65)
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (1)
- (-) Bioenergy (45)
- (-) Grid (5)
- (-) Machine Learning (12)
- (-) Mercury (7)
- (-) Net Zero (2)
- (-) Summit (11)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (11)
- Artificial Intelligence (15)
- Big Data (13)
- Biology (73)
- Biomedical (16)
- Biotechnology (13)
- Buildings (3)
- Chemical Sciences (11)
- Clean Water (11)
- Climate Change (40)
- Composites (5)
- Computer Science (34)
- Coronavirus (13)
- Critical Materials (1)
- Cybersecurity (2)
- Decarbonization (19)
- Energy Storage (9)
- Environment (90)
- Exascale Computing (5)
- Frontier (3)
- Fusion (1)
- High-Performance Computing (22)
- Hydropower (8)
- Isotopes (2)
- Materials (12)
- Materials Science (7)
- Mathematics (3)
- Microscopy (10)
- Molten Salt (1)
- Nanotechnology (7)
- National Security (3)
- Neutron Science (4)
- Nuclear Energy (1)
- Partnerships (5)
- Physics (2)
- Polymers (2)
- Quantum Science (3)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (2)
- Simulation (14)
- Sustainable Energy (32)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (1)
- Transportation (3)
Media Contacts
![Solar panels funded by the Honnold Foundation are installed in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Credit: Fabio Andrade](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/grid-thumb2.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=p9gjQHsR)
When Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico in 2017, winds snapped trees and destroyed homes, while heavy rains transformed streets into rivers. But after the storm passed, the human toll continued to grow as residents struggled without electricity for months. Five years later, power outages remain long and frequent.
![Scientists at ORNL have created a rhizosphere-on-a-chip research platform, a miniaturized environment to study the ecosystem around poplar tree roots for insights into plant health and soil carbon sequestration. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-08/Rhizosphere%20on%20a%20chip_thumbnail.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=KImuFYmF)
Scientists at ORNL have created a miniaturized environment to study the ecosystem around poplar tree roots for insights into plant health and soil carbon sequestration.
![Samarthya Bhagia examines a sample of a thermoplastic composite material additively manufactured using poplar wood and polylactic acid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-07/2022-P03486.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=sdSfzVet)
Chemical and environmental engineer Samarthya Bhagia is focused on achieving carbon neutrality and a circular economy by designing new plant-based materials for a range of applications from energy storage devices and sensors to environmentally friendly bioplastics.
![These images show increasing levels of magnification of phytoliths in the leaves of poplar trees, a key biofuel crop, imaged using ORNL’s specialized microscopy-spectroscopy. Credit: Elizabeth Herndon/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/siliconphytoliths_0.jpg?h=b8dc44ba&itok=Eqt3EDFD)
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are closer to unlocking the secrets to better soil carbon sequestration by studying the tiny, sand-like silicon deposits called phytoliths in plants.
![Scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy, a nondestructive technique in which the tip of the probe of a microscope scatters pulses of light to generate a picture of a sample, allowed the team to obtain insights into the composition of plant cell walls. Credit: Ali Passian/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/Picture1_0.jpg?h=da2f9885&itok=_QN9qoqF)
To optimize biomaterials for reliable, cost-effective paper production, building construction, and biofuel development, researchers often study the structure of plant cells using techniques such as freezing plant samples or placing them in a vacuum.
![Earth Day](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/Earth%20image.png?h=8f74817f&itok=5rQ_su9Z)
Tackling the climate crisis and achieving an equitable clean energy future are among the biggest challenges of our time.
![ORNL scientists created a new microbial trait mapping process that improves on classical protoplast fusion techniques to identify the genes that trigger desirable genetic traits like improved biomass processing. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy. Reprinted with the permission of Oxford University Press, publisher of Nucleic Acids Research](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-04/Nucleic%20Cover%20Illustration.jpg?h=4a9d1e17&itok=iw81emAt)
ORNL scientists had a problem mapping the genomes of bacteria to better understand the origins of their physical traits and improve their function for bioenergy production.
![Scientists with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at ORNL highlighted a hybrid approach that uses microbes and catalysis to convert cellulosic biomass into fuels suitable for aviation and other difficult-to-electrify sectors. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-03/AirplaneSwitchgrass_0.png?h=198a5201&itok=Vuu-Rrk7)
The rapid pace of global climate change has added urgency to developing technologies that reduce the carbon footprint of transportation technologies, especially in sectors that are difficult to electrify.
![Dongarra in 2019 with Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Summit supercomputer](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-03/I%29%20Dongarra_IBM_Summit_Superomputer.jpeg?h=4bf1c8f5&itok=9sM8m0Iz)
A force within the supercomputing community, Jack Dongarra developed software packages that became standard in the industry, allowing high-performance computers to become increasingly more powerful in recent decades.
![Bryan Piatkowski is a Liane Russell Distinguished Fellow at ORNL developing a framework to better understand the genetic underpinnings of desirable plant traits so they may be used to create climate-resilient crops for food, bioenergy and carbon sequestration. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-03/Piatkowski%20outdoors%202021-P06111_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=bhUc5-NN)
Bryan Piatkowski, a Liane Russell Distinguished Fellow in the Biosciences Division at ORNL, is exploring the genetic pathways for traits such as stress tolerance in several plant species important for carbon sequestration