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News Releases

ORNL's Communications team works with news media seeking information about the laboratory. Media may use the resources listed below or send questions to news@ornl.gov.
Two cylinders on each side of the photo are pointing to bright glowing orb in the center.

Scientists at ORNL have developed a method that can track chemical changes in molten salt in real time — helping to pave the way for the deployment of molten salt reactors for energy production.

Animated graphic with a plant on the right, blue sphere on the left and blue glowing dots scattered throughout.

To help reduce the likelihood of losing future cultivated crops to drought and other seasonal hardships, researchers from ORNL, Budapest and Hungary are using neutrons, light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to study the 'Never Never' plant, known for its ability to endure periods of little to no rain. 

Illustration of a quantum experiment: atoms in a lattice (inset) with entanglement effects radiating from a central particle on a textured surface.

Working at nanoscale dimensions, billionths of a meter in size, a team of scientists led by ORNL revealed a new way to measure high-speed fluctuations in magnetic materials. Knowledge obtained by these new measurements could be used to advance technologies ranging from traditional computing to the emerging field of quantum computing. 

ORNL Director of Sepcial Initatives Joe Hoagland poses for a photo in front of a grey backdrop.

Joe Hoagland, a leader in regional energy innovation, has been named director of special initiatives at the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍø. 

Three egg-shaped orbs of varying opacity are shown on a dark blue background, increasing transparency revealing they are filled with smaller round balls of red and blue. Arrows indicate counterclockwise rotation of the orbs, and green squiggles imply motion of the smaller balls.

Using the Frontier supercomputer at ORNL, researchers have developed a new technique that predicts nuclear properties in record detail. The study revealed how the structure of a nucleus relates to the force that holds it together. This understanding could advance efforts in quantum physics and across a variety of sectors, from to energy production to national security.

Two semi-trucks filled with supplies for disaster relief, two men loading the trucks

ORNL staff and its managing contractor, UT-Battelle, donated $1,104,866 in the 2024 ORNL Gives campaign, an annual employee-led effort to address needs throughout East Tennessee. 

Photo is a graphical representation of lithium ions (glowing orbs) move through a diffusion gate (gold triangle) in a solid-state electrolyte

A team of scientists led by a professor from Duke University discovered a way to help make batteries safer, charge faster and last longer. They relied on neutrons at ORNL to understand at the atomic scale how lithium moves in lithium phosphorus sulfur chloride, a promising new type of solid-state battery material known as a superionic compound. 

the foreground shows new macromolecules that could be made using a process invented by 91°µÍø chemists to upcycle the polymers from discarded plastics.

By editing the polymers of discarded plastics, ORNL chemists have found a way to generate new macromolecules with more valuable properties than those of the starting material.

quantum network illustration

Researchers at ORNL joined forces with EPB of Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to demonstrate the first transmission of an entangled quantum signal using multiple wavelength channels and automatic polarization stabilization over a commercial network with no downtime.

ORNL partnerships director Shaun Gleason is posing in a suit for a photo with a black background

Shaun Gleason has been named director of the Partnerships Office at ORNL. Gleason has worked at ORNL for several decades, in a variety of roles, including Director of Science-Security Initiative Integration, Director of the Computational Sciences and Engineering Division and Director of Institutional Planning.