Feature Articles

Researchers with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have created an innovative method to visualize and analyze atomic structures within specially designed, ultrathin bilayer 2D materials. When precisely aligned at an angle, these materials exhibit unique properties that could lead to advancements in quantum computing, superconductors and ultraefficient electronics.

The Global Burst Detection system, developed by Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, carries a suite of sensors and instruments capable of identifying signals from nuclear detonations and providing real-time information to the U.S. military and government. The final system in the current block of eight systems launched into space in May 2025. Meanwhile, the next series, scheduled for initial deployment in 2027, already has several units completed and ready to be integrated with host satellites.

A research team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a new method to uncover the atomic origins of unusual material behavior. This approach uses Bayesian deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence that combines probability theory and neural networks to analyze complex datasets with exceptional efficiency. 

By combining AI with molecular dynamics simulations, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new tool to more accurately predict how plants and helpful microbes communicate and form partnerships at the most fundamental level.

In a collaboration showing the power of innovation and teamwork, physicists and engineers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a mobile muon detector that promises to enhance monitoring for spent nuclear fuel and help address a critical challenge for quantum computing.

When Christi Johnson finishes clocking an eighth of a mile in 4.7 seconds, she jumps out of the dagger-shaped drag racer while its wheels are still smoking, pulls off her helmet… and the next morning, pulls on her lab coat.

As a technical professional at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Johnson has developed, built and tested hardware and software for innovations including a jet blast deflector, an ultrasonic dryer, a sensor system for driver recognition and waveguide inspection tubes for the world’s largest magnetic fusion device. But Johnson, who works in the Multimodal Sensor Analytics Group, said her scientific career really began when she was a little girl eager for her turn in a fast car.

The Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Germany recently sustained a plasma with a record high triple product for 43 seconds – far surpassing previous performance – in part due to a novel fuel pellet injection system developed by researchers at ORNL.

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have advanced the use of DuAlumin-3D, an innovative aluminum alloy, in high-temperature automotive components, significantly expanding the possibilities of additive manufacturing.

When asked to describe her job within the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE), Kristy Spencer smiled.

Research using neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor is helping scientists better understand how to extract oil from unconventional reservoirs, serving to reinforce America’s energy independence.