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Pictured is the ORNL concrete sign in front of the ORNL campus

ORNL’s National Security Sciences Directorate partnered with the University of Tennessee’s Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs to develop a graduate certificate in nuclear security that launched in the fall of 2024. 

5 scientists in blue and white coats are leaning over the wind blades covered in orange and yellow material

ORNL researchers reached a significant milestone by building an entire 6.5-foot turbine blade tip using novel materials. The team then tested it against the forces of simulated lightning in a specialized lab at Mississippi State University, where the blade tip emerged pristine after tests that isolate the effects of high voltage. 

Big group photo standing outside of a brick building with text underneath describing the IAEA workshop on safety, security and safeguards

In early November, ORNL hosted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Interregional Workshop on Safety, Security and Safeguards by Design in Small Modular Reactors, which welcomed 76 attendees representing 15 countries, three U.S. national labs, domestic and international industry partners, as well as IAEA officers. 

Scientists used neutron scattering to study how tweaking the ionic clusters in ionizable polymer solutions affects their structure. The polymer building blocks are marked in gold and the ionizable groups in red. Findings could open doors to lighter, more efficient clean energy devices. Credit: Phoenix Pleasant/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Electrolytes that convert chemical to electrical energy underlie the search for new power sources with zero emissions. Among these new power sources are fuel cells that produce electricity. 

ORNL inventor Michael Smith, right, holds a laptop showing what Scott Greenwood, left, sees through an augmented reality headset.

Teletrix, a company specializing in radiation training tools, has transitioned from a research and development license to a commercial license for its augmented reality, or AR, platform that simulates ionizing radiation. This advanced platform was developed using technologies licensed from ORNL.

Pictured is a 3D printed roosting structure for bats.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are using a new bioderived material to 3D print custom roosting structures for endangered bats.

Team working on in green composites design for their fully-recyclable wind turbine blade tip incorporating low-cost carbon fiber

ORNL researchers were honored with a prestigious ACE Award for Composites Excellence by the American Composites Manufacturers Association. The team won the “innovation in green composites design” prize for creating a fully recyclable, lightweight wind turbine blade tip that incorporates low-cost carbon fiber and conductive coating for enhanced protection against lightning strikes. 

ORNL scientists used molecular dynamics simulations, exascale computing, lab testing and analysis to accelerate the development of an energy-saving method to produce nanocellulosic fibers.

A team led by scientists at ORNL identified and demonstrated a method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%, using simulations on the lab’s supercomputers and follow-on analysis.

Illustration of oscillating UCI3 bonds

Researchers for the first time documented the specific chemistry dynamics and structure of high-temperature liquid uranium trichloride salt, a potential nuclear fuel source for next-generation reactors. 

Benjamin Manard

Benjamin Manard, an analytical chemist in the Chemical Sciences Division of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will receive the 2024 Lester W. Strock Award from the Society of Applied Spectroscopy.