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Troy Carter is standing on the staircase with a mural in the background showing the summit supercmputer

Troy Carter, director of the Fusion Energy Division at 91, leads efforts to make fusion energy a reality, overseeing key projects like MPEX and fostering public-private collaborations in fusion research. 

Two men are talking on the backside of a semi trailer holding big wooden boxes

US ITER has completed delivery of all components for the support structure of the central solenoid, the 60-foot-tall superconducting magnet that is the “heart” of the ITER fusion machine. 

Secretary Wright leans over red computer door, signing with silver sharpie as ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer looks on

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.”

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. 

Procter & Gamble scientists used ORNL’s Summit supercomputer to create a digital model of the corneal epithelium, the primary outer layer of cells covering the human eye, and test that model against a series of cleaning compounds in search of a gentler, more environmentally sustainable formula.

P&G is using simulations on the ORNL Summit supercomputer to study how surfactants in cleaners cause eye irritation. By modeling the corneal epithelium, P&G aims to develop safer, concentrated cleaning products that meet performance and safety standards while supporting sustainability goals.

Two pictures of a rounded triangle shape are shown in mirror image. The left is white with red and purple spots in the middle while the one on the right is purple with a yellow and blue ring in the middle

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.

Researcher in a blue coat and glasses, purple gloves and white baseball gat pulls out materials from a metal canister

ORNL researchers created and tested two methods for transforming coal into the scarce mineral graphite, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles. 

FREDA logo with a blue background and neon blue lines coming from the bottom left, plus a circle in the middle filled with half science atom symbol and half gear

FREDA is a new tool being developed at ORNL that will accelerate the design and testing of next-generation fusion devices. It is the first tool of its kind to combine plasma and engineering modeling capabilities and utilize high performance computing resources.

Members of the target design team pose next to the 2.0-megawatt-capable mercury flow target they developed.

The Proton Power Upgrade project at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source has achieved its final key performance parameter of 1,250 hours of neutron production at 1.7 megawatts of proton beam power on a newly developed target. 

Kathryn McCarthy, director of the US ITER Project is pictured here posing against a black background.

Kathryn McCarthy, director of the US ITER Project at the Department of Energy’s 91, has been awarded the 2024 E. Gail de Planque Medal by the American Nuclear Society.