![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
- (-) Materials (68)
- (-) Nuclear Science and Technology (40)
- Advanced Manufacturing (8)
- Biological Systems (1)
- Biology and Environment (123)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Building Technologies (2)
- Clean Energy (135)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (5)
- Computational Biology (2)
- Computational Engineering (3)
- Computer Science (7)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (1)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (1)
- Fusion and Fission (29)
- Fusion Energy (11)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (9)
- Materials for Computing (10)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (26)
- Neutron Science (24)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (1)
- Supercomputing (81)
News Topics
- (-) Biomedical (8)
- (-) Environment (16)
- (-) Frontier (3)
- (-) Machine Learning (5)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (49)
- (-) Polymers (17)
- (-) Sustainable Energy (14)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (26)
- Advanced Reactors (14)
- Artificial Intelligence (9)
- Big Data (2)
- Bioenergy (12)
- Biology (4)
- Buildings (5)
- Chemical Sciences (32)
- Clean Water (3)
- Climate Change (5)
- Composites (9)
- Computer Science (19)
- Coronavirus (5)
- Critical Materials (13)
- Cybersecurity (5)
- Decarbonization (8)
- Energy Storage (34)
- Exascale Computing (2)
- Fusion (15)
- Grid (5)
- High-Performance Computing (4)
- Irradiation (1)
- Isotopes (16)
- ITER (1)
- Materials (73)
- Materials Science (79)
- Mathematics (1)
- Microscopy (27)
- Molten Salt (7)
- Nanotechnology (39)
- National Security (3)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (38)
- Partnerships (11)
- Physics (31)
- Quantum Computing (3)
- Quantum Science (11)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (2)
- Simulation (1)
- Space Exploration (7)
- Summit (2)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (5)
- Transportation (14)
Media Contacts
![Distinguished Inventors](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-12/inventors.jpg?h=4631f1c1&itok=xhAGY0kv)
Six scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory were named Battelle Distinguished Inventors, in recognition of obtaining 14 or more patents during their careers at the lab.
![ORNL Sign](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-11/ORNLsign.jpg?h=22d0129c&itok=YoZbTjCS)
Seven ORNL scientists have been named among the 2020 Highly Cited Researchers list, according to Clarivate, a data analytics firm that specializes in scientific and academic research.
![ORNL’s Ramesh Bhave poses in his lab in March 2019. Bhave developed the Membrane Solvent Extraction process, which can be used to recover cobalt and other metals from spent lithium-ion batteries. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-10/2019-P01791_0.jpg?h=a31ffb6c&itok=1Cd8wiQV)
Momentum Technologies Inc., a Dallas, Texas-based materials science company that is focused on extracting critical metals from electronic waste, has licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory process for recovering cobalt and other metals from spent
![An interactive visualization shows potential progression of BECCS to address carbon dioxide reduction goals. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-09/BECCSMap_0.png?h=9697e475&itok=garhzl6i)
The combination of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage could cost-effectively sequester hundreds of millions of metric tons per year of carbon dioxide in the United States, making it a competitive solution for carbon management, according to a new analysis by ORNL scientists.
![Xunxiang Hu, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division, designed this machine to produce large, crack-free pieces of yttrium hydride to be used as a moderator in the core of ORNL’s Transformational Challenge Reactor and other microreactors. Credit: Xunxiang Hu/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-09/HuYHxphoto.jpg?h=eef83f16&itok=7KfkqQLh)
About 60 years ago, scientists discovered that a certain rare earth metal-hydrogen mixture, yttrium, could be the ideal moderator to go inside small, gas-cooled nuclear reactors.
![A selfie from the Curiosity rover as it explores the surface of Mars. Like many spacecraft, Curiosity uses a radioisotope power system to help fuel its mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-09/Curiousity_1.jpg?h=86a9dded&itok=Jo0vD321)
Radioactive isotopes power some of NASA’s best-known spacecraft. But predicting how radiation emitted from these isotopes might affect nearby materials is tricky
![Fuel pellets sometimes degrade to a sandlike consistency and can disperse into the reactor core if a rod’s cladding bursts. ORNL researchers are studying how often this happens and what impact it has, in order to let reactors operate as long as possible without increasing risk.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/X2001338_FuelFragmentation_GraphicUpdate_Bumpus_jnj-02_0.jpg?h=049a2720&itok=mzNfF2cS)
A developing method to gauge the occurrence of a nuclear reactor anomaly has the potential to save millions of dollars.
![Simulation of short polymer chains](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Screen%20Shot%202020-07-27%20at%202.46.08%20PM_0.png?h=fc4031ca&itok=DVcIeNaW)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have discovered a cost-effective way to significantly improve the mechanical performance of common polymer nanocomposite materials.
![Paul Abraham uses mass spectrometry to study proteins.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-09/2019-P16536.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=QMxGFQhK)
Systems biologist Paul Abraham uses his fascination with proteins, the molecular machines of nature, to explore new ways to engineer more productive ecosystems and hardier bioenergy crops.
![Hector J. Santos-Villalobos, left, and Oscar A. Martinez](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/henaac20.jpg?h=158d9140&itok=-NxooIrE)
Two staff members at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received prestigious HENAAC and Luminary Awards from Great Minds in STEM, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting STEM careers in underserved