![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
- (-) Fusion and Fission (48)
- (-) Neutron Science (45)
- (-) Nuclear Science and Technology (38)
- Advanced Manufacturing (7)
- Biological Systems (1)
- Biology and Environment (33)
- Clean Energy (104)
- Computational Biology (2)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (6)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (1)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (2)
- Fusion Energy (15)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (11)
- Materials (114)
- Materials Characterization (1)
- Materials for Computing (17)
- Materials Under Extremes (1)
- National Security (27)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (53)
- Transportation Systems (1)
News Topics
- (-) Biomedical (14)
- (-) Energy Storage (10)
- (-) Fossil Energy (2)
- (-) Fusion (30)
- (-) Machine Learning (3)
- (-) Materials Science (27)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (63)
- (-) Security (3)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (13)
- Advanced Reactors (17)
- Artificial Intelligence (7)
- Big Data (2)
- Bioenergy (8)
- Biology (5)
- Biotechnology (1)
- Buildings (1)
- Chemical Sciences (6)
- Clean Water (2)
- Climate Change (1)
- Composites (2)
- Computer Science (16)
- Coronavirus (9)
- Critical Materials (1)
- Cybersecurity (2)
- Decarbonization (5)
- Environment (10)
- Exascale Computing (1)
- Frontier (2)
- Grid (2)
- High-Performance Computing (4)
- Isotopes (6)
- ITER (6)
- Materials (14)
- Mathematics (1)
- Microscopy (4)
- Molten Salt (4)
- Nanotechnology (11)
- National Security (2)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (101)
- Partnerships (3)
- Physics (11)
- Polymers (1)
- Quantum Computing (1)
- Quantum Science (7)
- Simulation (3)
- Space Exploration (8)
- Summit (6)
- Sustainable Energy (7)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (7)
Media Contacts
![MPEX ribbon cutting](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-10/2020-P16074.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=kTWA3sZU)
Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory leaders for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark progress toward a next-generation fusion materials project.
![Substituting deuterium for hydrogen makes methylammonium heavier and slows its swaying so it can interact with vibrations that remove heat, keeping charge carriers hot longer. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-10/20-G00933_PR_Manley_0.jpg?h=eca34813&itok=3DjqguYT)
Led by ORNL and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a study of a solar-energy material with a bright future revealed a way to slow phonons, the waves that transport heat.
![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.
![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
![This photo shows the interior of the vessel of the General Atomics DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego, where ORNL researchers are testing the suitability of tungsten to armor the inside of a fusion device. Credit: General Atomics](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/X2001140_Tungsten_DIIID_GeneralAtomics_Bumpus_jnj_0.jpg?h=fa422108&itok=9R1Nn6B_)
The inside of future nuclear fusion energy reactors will be among the harshest environments ever produced on Earth. What’s strong enough to protect the inside of a fusion reactor from plasma-produced heat fluxes akin to space shuttles reentering Earth’s atmosphere?
![3D-printed 316L steel has been irradiated along with traditionally wrought steel samples. Researchers are comparing how they perform at various temperatures and varying doses of radiation. Credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/X2001337_TCR_IrradiatedMaterials_Bumpus_jnj-04.jpg?h=e3a8e2b5&itok=pXslTCBN)
It’s a new type of nuclear reactor core. And the materials that will make it up are novel — products of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s advanced materials and manufacturing technologies.
![VERA’s tools allow a virtual window inside the reactor core, down to a molecular level.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/Godfrey_2d_pin_power.png?h=507248e9&itok=SIcNrXUE)
As CASL ends and transitions to VERA Users Group, ORNL looks at the history of the program and its impact on the nuclear industry.
![Enzyme activity during organophosphate poisoning](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-08/anecdote1_0.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=wpYYilBI)
Pick your poison. It can be deadly for good reasons such as protecting crops from harmful insects or fighting parasite infection as medicine — or for evil as a weapon for bioterrorism. Or, in extremely diluted amounts, it can be used to enhance beauty.
![Pu-238 pellet drawing](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-07/Plutonium_Illustration_Blur.png?h=b6236d98&itok=wvSAbP64)
After its long journey to Mars beginning this summer, NASA’s Perseverance rover will be powered across the planet’s surface in part by plutonium produced at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.