Feature Articles

Leah Broussard, a research scientist in the Physics Division of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the inaugural DOE Distinguished Mentor Award for Workforce Development. The DOE Office of Science announced the awards March 10, recognizing scientists who guide and support the next generation of researchers.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers invented a reusable adhesive from waste polymers that is tougher than commercial glues, works underwater as well as in dry environments, and bonds a variety of materials, including wood, glass, metal, paper and polymers. Inspired by the way mussels stick stubbornly to surfaces, the innovative adhesive contains reversible chemical crosslinkers that allow the hardened glue to soften, detach and be reused, unlike current glues, which set permanently after one use.

Industry experts from tech companies, equipment makers, utilities and data center developers gathered recently at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to brainstorm research and technology pathways to securely integrate AI data centers with the electric grid. 

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have provided the first comprehensive analysis of the specific costs of power outages to local customers across the nation. It found that the average yearly cost of major outages topped $67 billion over the past seven years.

The total annual burden on customers rose sharply over that time, with the price tag of major outages climbing to $121 billion in 2024. These power disruptions pose serious risks to public health and safety and drain billions of dollars from the U.S. economy.

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered an extraordinary crystal made from tantalum, tungsten, and selenium that defies expectations with its unique atomic structure. Instead of a random arrangement, the tantalum atoms organize themselves into precise triangular clusters, enhancing the crystal's stability and creating specific magnetic properties when cooled to extremely low temperatures. This unexpected behavior paves the way for advances in spintronics and quantum materials, which could revolutionize computing and data storage by harnessing the dual properties of electron charge and spin.

ORNL researchers are advancing connected and automated vehicle systems to improve merging behavior and traffic flow. By linking real vehicles with immersive traffic simulations, the team is evaluating cooperative driving strategies to support the development of next-generation intelligent transportation systems.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are helping to enable the next generation of abundant, affordable nuclear energy by combining 80 years of know-how with the latest scientific techniques, facilities and equipment. The lab’s longstanding expertise in degradation of materials in the harsh environments of nuclear reactors make it the go-to place for a resurgence of interest in liquid metals and molten salts for both advanced fission and fusion reactors. 

In a long-running collaboration with GE Aerospace, researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia have been steadily working to improve the performance of high-pressure turbine (HPT) engines through computer simulations on leadership-class computing systems. Using ORNL's Frontier supercomputer, the Melbourne team investigated how the surface degradation of turbine blades affects their aerothermal performance with unprecedented simulations of 10 to 20 billion grid points in size,

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a deep learning algorithm that analyzes drone, camera and sensor data to reveal unusual vehicle patterns that may indicate illicit activity, including the movement of nuclear materials.

For more than 30 years, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has helped shape the future of high-temperature alloys, translating fundamental materials research into industrial impact. That expertise proved pivotal for Duraloy Technologies, whose long-standing partnership with ORNL transformed the company’s trajectory and set a benchmark for sustained public-private collaboration.