Feature Stories

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Western Michigan University researchers demonstrated pavement markers that use embedded microchips to transmit road shape information to self-driving cars. The technology, demonstrated to government officials in Chattanooga, TN, helps self-driving cars navigate in all weather conditions and outperformed commercial systems on roads with steep curves.

A unique manufacturing program for large metal parts holds promise to help revitalize American manufacturing and return clean energy manufacturing technologies to the United States. The approach could greatly reduce waiting times for critical components and enable economic growth in the manufacturing sector for energy, according to scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA), led by Berkeley Lab with Sandia National Laboratories as the lead partner, is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science National Quantum Information Science Research center that focuses on all three major technologies for quantum computing: superconducting circuits, trapped-ion systems, and neutral atoms. Due to this multi-institution collaboration, novel research developments in neutral atom systems are breaking new ground for quantum information processing.

Steve Farrell, a research associate at the Inner-Shell Spectroscopy (ISS) beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, has recently been selected as one of 2024’s Distinguished Goldhaber Fellows. Farrell is eager to use this time to pursue projects focused on clean, affordable energy that leverage his experience and expertise in chemistry and materials science.

Hua pioneers computer codes that can improve safety and efficiency of molten salt reactors.

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used the Frontier supercomputer to calculate the magnetic properties of calcium-48's atomic nucleus, resolving a long-standing experimental discrepancy. Their findings provide insights into how magnetism manifests in nuclei, contributing to our understanding of nuclear forces and the processes inside supernovae. This work could influence future experimental approaches and deepen our knowledge of the universe's fundamental forces.

Long-duration energy storage gets the spotlight in a new Energy Storage Research Alliance featuring PNNL innovations, like a molecular digital twin and advanced instrumentation.

PNNL welcomed United Kingdom researcher for a six-week hands-on research exchange to develop nuclear forensic techniques.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new automated drone inspection system that can respond rapidly to unusual electric grid behavior, especially in remote areas that are tough for a worker to reach. ORNL demonstrated the new approach at a training facility for powerline workers owned by utility partner EPB of Chattanooga in Tennessee.