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A team from ORNL, joined by university students, recently traveled to the Ohio State University Research Reactor to conduct a novel experiment on nuclear thermal rocket fuel coatings — one that could help propel NASA’s astronauts to Mars faster and more efficiently. 

Researchers from ORNL have developed a new application to increase efficiency in memory systems for high performance computing. Rather than allow data to bog down traditional memory systems in supercomputers and impact performance, the team from ORNL, along with researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, created a framework to manage data more efficiently with memory systems that employ more complex structures. 

Jairus Hines, an electronics and unmanned systems technician at ORNL, works with airborne, waterborne and ground-based drones. As part of the lab’s Autonomous Systems group, he applies "low and slow" drone technology to radiation detection for national security missions.

During a recent visit to ORNL, several OASA (IE&E) representatives explored the ORNL’s leadership in advanced nuclear energy development to inform the design and construction of a microreactor to power mission-critical facilities at two Army bases. 

Professionals from government and industry gathered at ORNL for the Nondestructive Assay Holdup Measurements Training Course for Nuclear Criticality Safety, a hands-on training in nondestructive assay, a technique for detecting and quantifying holdup without disturbing operations. 

Researchers at Georgia State University used the Summit supercomputer to study an elaborate molecular pathway called nucleotide excision repair. Decoding NER’s sophisticated sequence of events and the role of PInC in the pathway could provide key insights into developing novel treatments and preventing conditions that lead to premature aging and certain types of cancer.

During his first visit to 91����, Energy Secretary Chris Wright compared the urgency of the Lab’s World War II beginnings to today’s global race to lead in artificial intelligence, calling for a “Manhattan Project 2.”

A workshop led by scientists at ORNL sketched a road map toward a longtime goal: development of autonomous, or self-driving, next-generation research laboratories. 

Scientists designing the world’s first controlled nuclear fusion power plant, ITER, needed to solve the problem of runaway electrons, negatively charged particles in the soup of matter in the plasma within the tokamak, the magnetic bottle intended to contain the massive energy produced. Simulations performed on Summit, the 200-petaflop supercomputer at ORNL, could offer the first step toward a solution.

ORNL’s annual workshop has become the premier forum for molten salt reactor, or MSR, collaboration and innovation, convening industry, academia and government experts to further advance MSR research and development. This year’s event attracted a record-breaking 365 participants from across the country, highlighting the momentum to bring MSRs online.