Feature Articles

An up-and-coming type of nuclear reactor could help answer questions related to reducing carbon emissions while providing a foundation for renewable energy, if the fledgling technology can survive some growing pains, according to a new report by researchers at Idaho National Laboratory focusing on microreactors.

Scientists use various satellite and airborne systems to study how vegetation changes in response to climate change. However, these systems have low resolution that makes it hard to identify detailed patterns. This is especially true in the Arctic due to the region’s highly mixed vegetation. Now, scientists have adopted unoccupied aerial systems—also known as drones—for high-resolution vegetation monitoring.

On Oct. 25, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility welcomed U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and honored guests for a short tour of the lab and briefing on its research mission and plans for the future. The delegation interacted with several members of the lab’s community, including CEBAF operations staff, nuclear physicists, engineers, accelerator research scientists and students. Congressional Representatives Bobby Scott and Elaine Luria, Newport News Mayor McKinley Price, and a representative from Senator Mark Warner’s office joined Granholm on her visit to the lab.

For the first time in decades, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory are studying how the structure of uranium changes when it is rapidly heated or cooled.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) did to study the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The team used neutrons and x-rays to map part of the internal structure of the coronavirus to create an accurate 3-D model. Specifically, the scientists mapped the main protease (Mpro), an enzyme involved in the virus replication, to which they added test inhibitor molecules discovered using high-speed computer screening. One test inhibitor, labeled HL-3-68, demonstrated a superior ability to bind to and inhibit the function of Mpro compared to others that were tested. Details of the study, titled “Structural, electronic and electrostatic determinants for inhibitor binding to subsites S1 and S2 in SARS-CoV-2 main protease,” are published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Fundamental research conducted at the $90-million research facility will help the nation meet its clean energy goals.

Two PNNL interns are behind recent innovation in real-time testing and continuous monitoring for pH and the concentration of chemicals of interest in chemical solutions; outcomes have applicability not only to nuclear, but to industries.

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory developed a software toolkit called Wire-Cell that reconstructs and isolates neutrino data in 3D. This software directly enabled the long-awaited results from the MicroBooNE experiment announced today by Fermilab in four complementary analyses. The Wire-Cell team at Brookhaven Lab led one of the four analyses—the most sensitive analysis of the electron-neutrino interaction. Some components of the Wire-Cell toolkit were also used in the other three analyses.

Developed at PNNL, Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion, or ShAPE™, uses significantly less energy and can deliver components like wire, tubes and bars 10 times faster than conventional extrusion, with no sacrifice in quality.