Feature Articles

Additive Engineering Solutions, an Ohio-based company that’s now a leader in large-format 3D printing, began as an idea sparked by additive manufacturing research at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, or MDF, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A team of engineers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed ways to rapidly evaluate new thermal protection materials for hypersonic vehicles. Their three-year research project combined computer modeling, laboratory experiments and flight testing to better understand how heat shields behave under extreme temperatures and pressures, and to predict their performance much faster than before.

Tech startup Atomic Canyon used the Frontier supercomputer to train nuclear-specific AI models to radically speed up document search and analysis capabilities for nuclear reactors. The AI models are designed to radically reduce the time, labor and resources the nuclear industry spends searching the millions upon millions of complex nuclear documents related to parts, maintenance records, engineering evaluations, regulations and plant procedures. Once fully developed, the open-source AI models could be used in plants all across the country.

Future Foundries seamlessly integrates multiple manufacturing processes, delivering a flexible, end-to-end solution for efficient part production that meets stringent qualification and certification standards. By running workflows concurrently, the platform achieves remarkable efficiency, cutting production cycles by up to 68%.

Much is still unknown about how quantum computers behave and what they might one day help humans achieve. But a team at Sandia National Laboratories has developed a process to understand how to use quantum systems more efficiently — using the analogy of a simple jukebox.

For more than 60 years, the High Flux Isotope Reactor has produced neutron beams for the benefit of society, creating real-world impacts that span energy security, quantum computing, healthcare, national defense and advanced materials. 

Veterans of the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program are bringing their expertise to the Department of Energy’s High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, applying the same precision and discipline that powers the Navy’s fleets to America’s science, energy and security missions.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed the first X-ray imaging system that clearly reveals the interior of suspicious objects or infrastructure underwater. 

With powerful new colliders crashing particles at ever-increasing energies, even more daughter particles are produced. The innovative Celeritas project, led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provides a software tool that makes sure simulations used to analyze particles can run on the fastest supercomputers, accelerating answers about the nature of the universe.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory's High Flux Isotope Reactor operates under strict safety standards with skilled teams who ensure safe fuel cycles and isotope production as well as important discoveries in materials science, national security and medicine, maintaining the U.S.'s competitive edge. Planned upgrades will extend HFIR's operational life and capabilities, supporting ongoing scientific innovation and national security needs.