oak ridge national laboratory
Tried and true recipes
Nuclear reactor technology research dwindled away when nuclear power fell out of favor several decades ago. Renewed interest in fission-based energy means knowledge gained in past research is relevant again. Researchers at DOE’s Oak Ridge National…
Tracking forest threats
Alerts from an early warning system developed in part by DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could help protect forests across the U.S. from the threats of insects, disease and wildfire. Led by the USDA Forest Service, the multi-agency project uses h…
Story tips from the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory — March 2011
A process called gasification can turn carbonaceous fuels — coal, petroleum, or biomass — into syngas, a cleaner-burning fuel mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Scientists from the National Energy Technology Laboratory are concluding a three-year…
‘Fingerprints’ match molecular simulations with reality
OAK RIDGE, Tenn, Feb. 22, 2011 — A theoretical technique developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is bringing supercomputer simulations and experimental results closer together by identifying common “fingerprints.”
…
New lignin ‘lite’ switchgrass boosts biofuel yield by more than one-third
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 14, 2011 — Bioethanol from new lines of native perennial prairie grass could become less costly because of plant engineering by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and fermentation research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
…
Neutron analysis reveals ‘2 doors down’ superconductivity link
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. Feb. 7, 2011 — Neutron scattering analysis of two families of iron-based materials suggests that the magnetic interactions thought responsible for high-temperature superconductivity may lie “two doors down”: The key magnetic exchan…
‘Tall order’ sunlight-to-hydrogen system works, neutron analysis confirms
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. Feb. 3, 2011 — Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a biohybrid photoconversion system — based on the interaction of photosynthetic plant proteins with synthetic polymers — that c…
Natural dissolved organic matter plays dual role in cycling of mercury
Nature has a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde relationship with mercury, but researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have made a discovery that ultimately could help explain the split personality.
While scientists have know…
Supercomputing research opens doors for drug discovery
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 9, 2010 — A quicker and cheaper technique to scan molecular databases developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could put scientists on the fast track to developing new drug treatments.
A team le…
