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Media Contacts
![The Perseverance rover](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-07/pia23492_0.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=A5U6cgBE)
On Feb. 18, the world will be watching as NASA’s Perseverance rover makes its final descent into Jezero Crater on the surface of Mars. Mars 2020 is the first NASA mission that uses plutonium-238 produced at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
![ORNL welder Devin Johnson uses a new orbital welder to seal a hollow target in a glovebox in the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center. The new welder makes a clean seam on the metal target, eliminating the need for hand-finishing afterward. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-01/2021-P00359.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=_g8_FpZZ)
A better way of welding targets for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s plutonium-238 production has sped up the process and improved consistency and efficiency. This advancement will ultimately benefit the lab’s goal to make enough Pu-238 – the isotope that powers NASA’s deep space missions – to yield 1.5 kilograms of plutonium oxide annually by 2026.
![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.
![Sandra Davern performs cell based assays to evaluate cell death and DNA damage in response to radiation in order to gain a better understanding of how radioisotope nanoparticles affect the human body.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-10/2020-P15712.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=6cpxN4v2)
When Sandra Davern looks to the future, she sees individualized isotopes sent into the body with a specific target: cancer cells.
![ORNL scientists used new techniques to create long lengths of a composite copper-carbon nanotube material with improved properties for use in electric vehicle traction motors. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-09/nano_cu_08noLabels_0.jpg?h=4d70cb2a&itok=iFR0YlTM)
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used new techniques to create a composite that increases the electrical current capacity of copper wires, providing a new material that can be scaled for use in ultra-efficient, power-dense electric vehicle traction motors.
![Recent research involving Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source demonstrates crystal-like heat conduction in a solid-liquid hybrid, AgCrSe2.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-05/NIEDZELA_PNAS_graphic_0.png?h=39b94f55&itok=CA3sJhdS)
Research by an international team led by Duke University and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists could speed the way to safer rechargeable batteries for consumer electronics such as laptops and cellphones.
![Batteries - The 3D connection](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-05/Batteries_3D%20story%20tip_2.jpg?h=aeb34e32&itok=puhZ_584)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a thin film, highly conductive solid-state electrolyte made of a polymer and ceramic-based composite for lithium metal batteries.
![Coronavirus graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/covid19_jh_0.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=PyngFUZw)
In the race to identify solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are joining the fight by applying expertise in computational science, advanced manufacturing, data science and neutron science.
![The students analyzed diatom images like this one to compare wild and genetically modified strains of these organisms. Credit: Alison Pawlicki/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/RI4362007.png?h=37702503&itok=9lQReLRe)
Students often participate in internships and receive formal training in their chosen career fields during college, but some pursue professional development opportunities even earlier.
![Representatives from The University of Toledo and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee are teaming up to conduct collaborative automotive materials research.” Credit: University of Toledo](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-10/Oak%20Ridge%20Nat%20Lab%20group%20photo_0.jpeg?h=1e7f2295&itok=pITK15-V)
ORNL and The University of Toledo have entered into a memorandum of understanding for collaborative research.