Latest News from: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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Released: 27-Aug-2018 1:45 PM EDT
Qrypt licenses ORNL’s quantum random number generator to fortify encryption methods
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Qrypt, Inc., has exclusively licensed a novel cyber security technology from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, promising a stronger defense against cyberattacks including those posed by quantum computing.

Released: 23-Aug-2018 2:05 PM EDT
Two Steps Ahead: Neutrons Help Explore Future HIV Treatments
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Using the BioSANS instrument at DOE’s ORNL, a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine explores future HIV treatments. Specifically, the researchers hope to better understand how HIV evolves to combat ALLINIs, a new class of HIV-fighting drug. With the information they’ve gathered at ORNL, the researchers hope to pave the way for more effective HIV treatments in the future.

Released: 13-Aug-2018 10:00 AM EDT
Sight Unseen: Novel Method Detects Evidence of Unmarked Human Graves
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A new approach to find unmarked gravesites could help narrow the scope and potentially speed up the search for clues during crime scene investigations. Geospatial researchers with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and forensic scientists at University of Tennessee used LIDAR to detect telltale signs of recently buried human remains.

Released: 10-Aug-2018 1:10 PM EDT
UT-ORNL team makes first particle accelerator beam measurement in six dimensions
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The first full characterization measurement of an accelerator beam in six dimensions will advance the understanding and performance of current and planned accelerators around the world.

9-Aug-2018 9:15 AM EDT
SNS completes full neutron production cycle at record power level
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached a new milestone by operating a complete neutron production run cycle at 1.3 megawatts. Achieving the record power level with a remarkable 94 percent accelerator beam availability establishes a new baseline of operation as well as a path to operate reliably at higher powers. Increased power offers researchers the ability to conduct faster scientific analyses using neutrons on more types of materials.

6-Aug-2018 3:00 PM EDT
Hotter Temperatures Extend Growing Season for Peatland Plants
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A study in Nature revealed that turning up the heat accelerates spring greening in vegetation and delays fall color change. The research team measured plant greenness over three years at the SPRUCE study, a unique ecosystem-scale experiment operated by DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Released: 1-Aug-2018 12:05 PM EDT
Story Tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, August 2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

ORNL story tips: Residents’ shared desire for water security benefits neighborhoods; 3D printed molds for concrete facades promise lower cost, production time; ORNL engineered the edges of structures in 2D crystals; chasing runaway electrons in fusion plasmas; new tools to understand U.S. waterways and identify potential hydropower sites; better materials for 3D-printed permanent magnets could last longer, perform better.

Released: 25-Jul-2018 2:05 PM EDT
ORNL develops new capability to evaluate human-driven change in Eastern U.S. streams
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A stream classification system developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory can help assess physical changes to United States streams and rivers from human influences and aid in more effective management of water resources.

Released: 17-Jul-2018 11:40 AM EDT
Brixon, Inc. licenses ORNL’s innovative sensor technology for security applications
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Brixon, Inc., has exclusively licensed a multiparameter sensor technology from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The integrated platform uses various sensors that measure physical and environmental parameters and respond to standard security applications.

Released: 13-Jul-2018 11:05 AM EDT
Chang-Hong Yu: Running a Physics Marathon
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Profiled is Chang-Hong Yu of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, whose passion for long-distance races serves her well chasing neutrinos—electrically neutral subatomic particles that have almost no mass, interact weakly with matter and are spotted through feats of intellect and endurance.

Released: 2-Jul-2018 10:05 AM EDT
Story Tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, July 2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

ORNL story tips: Oak Ridge National Laboratory assists FEMA with structural damage data from Hawaii lava flows; self-healing super-stretchy material could lead to longer-lasting consumer products; ORNL 3D prints plant-based plastic polymers; mini-grid safely tests components to the max; neutrons uncover pathway to new algae strains for sustainable biofuels.

25-Jun-2018 2:00 PM EDT
New Insights Bolster Einstein’s Idea About How Heat Moves Through Solids
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A discovery by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory supports a century-old theory by Albert Einstein that explains how heat moves through everything from travel mugs to engine parts.

Released: 28-Jun-2018 1:05 PM EDT
ORNL Produces Rare Ruthenium Isotope for Atom Smashing Experiment
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A tiny vial of gray powder produced at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the backbone of a new experiment to study the intense magnetic fields created in nuclear collisions.

Released: 25-Jun-2018 4:55 PM EDT
Stealth Mark Licenses ORNL Invisible Micro-Taggant for Anticounterfeiting Applications
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

StealthCo, Inc., an Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based firm doing business as Stealth Mark, has exclusively licensed an invisible micro-taggant from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The anticounterfeiting technology features a novel materials coding system that uses an infrared marker for identification.

Released: 25-Jun-2018 7:05 AM EDT
ORNL’s Summit Supercomputer Named World’s Fastest
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is once again officially home to the fastest supercomputer in the world, according to the TOP500 List, a semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest computing systems.

Released: 19-Jun-2018 10:05 AM EDT
ORNL researchers use AI to improve mammogram interpretation
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

In an effort to reduce errors in the analyses of diagnostic images by health professionals, a team of researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory has improved understanding of the cognitive processes involved in image interpretation, work that has enormous potential to improve health outcomes for the hundreds of thousands of American women affected by breast cancer each year. The ORNL-led team found that analyses of mammograms by radiologists were significantly influenced by context bias, or the radiologist’s previous diagnostic experiences.

   
Released: 18-Jun-2018 11:05 AM EDT
Scientists Use Neutrons to Take a Deeper Look at Record Boost in Thermoelectric Efficiency
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Neutron facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are aiding scientists in research to boost the power and efficiency of thermoelectric materials. These performance increases could enable more cost-effective and practical uses for thermoelectrics, with wider industry adoption, to improve fuel economy in vehicles, make power plants more efficient, and advance body heat–powered technologies for watches and smartphones.

Released: 15-Jun-2018 9:00 PM EDT
Critical plant gene takes unexpected detour that could boost biofuel yields
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

For decades, biologists have believed a key enzyme in plants had one function—produce amino acids, which are vital to plant survival and also essential to human diets. But for Wellington Muchero, Meng Xie and their colleagues, this enzyme does more than advertised. They had run a series of experiments on poplar plants that consistently revealed mutations in a structure of the life-sustaining enzyme that was not previously known to exist.

Released: 13-Jun-2018 2:05 PM EDT
Zili Wu: Beating plants at photosynthetic step with help from catalysts
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Profiled is Zili Wu of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who leads ORNL’s Surface Chemistry and Catalysis group and conducts research at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at ORNL.

Released: 13-Jun-2018 9:00 AM EDT
Carlex Glass America licenses ORNL superhydrophobic coatings for automotive applications
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Carlex Glass America LLC has exclusively licensed optically clear, superhydrophobic coating technology from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory aimed initially at advancing glass products for the automotive sector.

8-Jun-2018 11:00 AM EDT
Robust MOF Material Exhibits Selective, Fully Reversible and Repeatable Capture of Toxic Atmospheric Gas
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Scientists have developed a metal-organic framework material offering selective, reversible and repeatable capture of nitrogen dioxide from ambient air. This could lead to cost-effective capture of greenhouse gases, to facilitate sequestration and help mitigate air pollution and global warming.

8-Jun-2018 1:00 PM EDT
ORNL Launches Summit Supercomputer
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory today unveiled Summit as the world’s most powerful and smartest scientific supercomputer.

   
Released: 1-Jun-2018 9:45 AM EDT
Story Tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, June 2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A direct brain-to-computer interface may be on the horizon. New insights into how quickly microorganisms break down organic matter in warming Arctic soil. Using liquid salt that contains FLiBe to cool molten salt reactors. Compact, powerful solar.

Released: 31-May-2018 8:45 AM EDT
ORNL ramps up production of key radioisotope for cancer-fighting drug
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is now producing actinium-227 (Ac-227) to meet projected demand for a highly effective cancer drug through a 10-year contract between the U.S. DOE Isotope Program and Bayer.

Released: 21-May-2018 10:05 AM EDT
Hotstick USA Exclusively Licenses ORNL Direct-Current Detector for Emergency Responder Safety
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

North Carolina-based Hotstick USA has exclusively licensed a direct-current detector technology developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help emergency responders safely detect high voltages.

   
Released: 17-May-2018 1:05 PM EDT
Supersonic Waves May Help Electronics Beat the Heat
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory made the first observations of waves of atomic rearrangements, known as phasons, propagating supersonically through a vibrating crystal lattice—a discovery that may dramatically improve heat transport in insulators and enable new strategies for heat management in future electronics devices.

Released: 16-May-2018 4:05 PM EDT
ORNL Facility Receives American Nuclear Society’s Historic Landmark Designation
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The American Nuclear Society has designated the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory an ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark, recognizing more than 50 years of isotope production and nuclear fuel cycle research.

Released: 14-May-2018 10:05 AM EDT
Made in the USA: Department of Energy Labs Help Advance Technology to Ensure Supply of Key Medical Isotopes
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

“Made in the USA.” That can now be said of the radioactive isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), last made in the United States in the late 1980s. Its short-lived decay product, technetium-99m (Tc-99m), is the most widely used radioisotope in medical diagnostic imaging. Tc-99m is best known for imaging blood flow in a cardiac nuclear stress test.

Released: 10-May-2018 2:40 PM EDT
Taking the Stress out of Residual Stress Mapping
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers from the University of Virginia are using neutrons to explore fundamental work in residual stress mapping that promises more precise science down the road for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and similar facilities around the world. The UVA team’s research will provide insight into the accuracy of residual stress mapping measurements in such materials when the neutron beam must travel large distances through the sample.

Released: 9-May-2018 3:30 PM EDT
Whistler Waves Appear to Scatter Runaway Electrons in Fusion Plasmas
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

When whistler waves are present in a fusion plasma, runaway electrons pay attention. A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the first to directly observe the elusive waves inside a highly energized magnetic field as electrons zoom around the plasma.

Released: 2-May-2018 11:40 AM EDT
PSI Researchers Seek Existence of Exotic Quantum Spin Ice
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers from the Paul Sherrer Institute are studying a fascinating sample using neutrons at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source. Their goal is to create an observable case of quantum spin ice, a bizarre magnetic state found in a special class of materials that could lead to advances in quantum computing.

Released: 2-May-2018 10:05 AM EDT
Novel Reaction Could Spark Alternate Approach to Ammonia Production
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The search for a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly method of ammonia production for fertilizer has led to the discovery of a new type of catalytic reaction.

Released: 1-May-2018 9:20 AM EDT
Story Tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, May 2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

ORNL studies how some trees respond and recover after heat waves; sensors collect data to uniquely identify vehicles; catalysis data calculations assist in overcoming limiting factor to break down olefins; ORNL tested NASA space probe instruments’ ability to withstand Sun’s extreme heat; using neutrons, ORNL observed enzyme behavior to determine certain antibiotics’ ineffectiveness.

Released: 25-Apr-2018 1:05 PM EDT
Unusual Magnetic Structure May Support Next-Generation Technology
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers from Colorado State University are using neutrons to study a material with an unusual magnetic structure. This research could both enhance their team’s fundamental understanding of frustrated magnetism and lead to improvements in digital information storage.

Released: 23-Apr-2018 1:30 PM EDT
Machine Speak: Left to Their Own Devices, Computers Can Figure It Out
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Using novel machine learning techniques, a research team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory is teaching electronic devices how to speak for themselves.

Released: 23-Apr-2018 12:05 PM EDT
Neutrons Provide Insights into Increased Performance for Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has revealed, in real time, the fundamental mechanisms behind the conversion of sunlight into energy in hybrid perovskite materials. A better understanding of this behavior will enable manufacturers to design solar cells with significantly increased efficiency.

Released: 18-Apr-2018 11:40 AM EDT
Spinach Used in Neutron Studies Could Unearth Secret to Stronger Plant Growth
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers from Uppsala University are using neutrons to study RuBisCO, an abundant enzyme essential to life on earth. They hope to determine how plants and other organisms use this enzyme to catalyze a reaction called carbon fixation that converts carbon dioxide into useful organic compounds.

Released: 13-Apr-2018 1:05 PM EDT
Custom-Designed Alloy Enhances Nuclear Safety
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A team led by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a safer cladding for nuclear fuel rods.

Released: 2-Apr-2018 12:05 PM EDT
Story Tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, April 2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Story tips: ORNL-led team cultivated a novel oral microbe in adults with periodontitis; ORNL partnered with FCA US and Nemak to develop a new cast aluminum alloy for engine cylinder heads, which could lead to better fuel efficiency; ORNL studies cast doubt on 40-year-old theory describing how plastic polymers behave during processing.

   
Released: 28-Mar-2018 4:05 PM EDT
Exceptionally Efficient Extraction May Improve Management of Nuclear Fuel
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A team at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has designed and synthesized a selective molecular trap that can separate the minor actinide element americium from a mixture of americium and the lanthanide elements.

Released: 27-Mar-2018 2:40 PM EDT
Putting Quantum Scientists in the Driver’s Seat
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

An interdisciplinary, interdepartmental group of scientists at ORNL conducted fundamental physics studies at the nanoscale to support development of experimental platforms that will control dissipation in quantum systems and materials.

Released: 26-Mar-2018 11:05 AM EDT
Underground Neutrino Experiment Sets the Stage for Deep Discovery About Matter
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Collaborators of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR have shown they can shield a sensitive, scalable 44-kilogram germanium detector array from background radioactivity. This accomplishment is critical to developing and proposing a much larger future experiment to study neutrinos.

Released: 19-Mar-2018 11:50 AM EDT
Neutrons Help Demystify Multiferroic Materials
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Using neutrons at ORNL, researchers identified a multiferroic material that exhibits a rare combination of magnetic and electrical properties. Studying these dual characteristics could lead to significant advances in information storage and power performance in new devices.

Released: 14-Mar-2018 11:05 AM EDT
ORNL Researchers Design Novel Method for Energy-Efficient Deep Neural Networks
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a novel method for more efficiently training large numbers of networks capable of solving complex science problems. Specifically, Mohammed Alawad, Hong-Jun Yoon, and Gina Tourassi of ORNL’s Computer Science and Engineering Division, have demonstrated that by converting deep learning neural networks (DNNs) to “deep spiking” neural networks (DSNNs) they can improve the efficiency of network design and training.

Released: 13-Mar-2018 10:05 AM EDT
Researchers Develop Spectroscopic Thermometer for Nanomaterials
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A scientific team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has found a new way to take the local temperature of a material from an area about a billionth of a meter wide, or approximately 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.

12-Mar-2018 12:00 PM EDT
Method to Grow Large Single-Crystal Graphene Could Advance Scalable 2D Materials
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A new method to produce large, monolayer single-crystal-like graphene films more than a foot long relies on harnessing a “survival of the fittest” competition among crystals. The novel technique, developed by a team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, may open new opportunities for growing the high-quality two-dimensional materials necessary for long-awaited practical applications.

Released: 5-Mar-2018 11:05 AM EST
Neutrons Provide New Polish for Petroleum Processing and More
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

University of Notre Dame researchers are using neutrons at ORNL to study how specialized molecules might improve petroleum production processes, as well as their potential uses in advanced photovoltaic technologies. Specifically, they want to know what effects functionalized molecules called petroporphyrins have on asphaltenes—darkly colored, high-molecular-weight molecules abundant in heavy crude oil.

Released: 1-Mar-2018 9:05 AM EST
Story Tips From the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

ORNL model could better predict tiny methylmercury pockets lurking in creek algae; engines work smarter with new fuel innovation; making narrow metallic structures to advance tiny electronics, drug delivery; certain enzymes that try to break down antibiotics may inform better drug designs for fighting resistant bacteria; current software simulations for small modular reactors upscaled to run on future supercomputers.

Released: 26-Feb-2018 11:05 AM EST
Neutrons Reveal Promising Properties of Novel Antioxidant Polymer
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A team of researchers from ORNL and the University of Alabama at Birmingham recently developed the antioxidant manganoporphyrin, a new polymer that could potentially improve drug delivery methods and other biomedical applications. Using neutrons, they studied the strength and efficiency of a compound made from this material and tannic acid, a natural antioxidant.

   
Released: 21-Feb-2018 4:05 PM EST
Testing Lithium Battery Limitations May Improve Safety and Lifetimes
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers are using neutrons to study a battery material that could offer a safer alternative to the flammable liquid component found in most types of lithium-ion batteries.



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