Feature Articles

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher Corey Cooke reveals hidden communications with new methods for teasing apart digital signals from noise. But his influence extends beyond mathematical models and machine learning to shaping new engineers. He coordinates a partnership between ORNL and Tennessee Technological University which helps ORNL staff pursue graduate degrees in electrical and computer engineering and opens professional opportunities for Tennessee Tech Graduates.

Biochemist David Baker — just announced as a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry — turned to the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for information he couldn’t get anywhere else. HFIR is the strongest reactor-based neutron source in the United States.  

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Downtown Island Airport (DKX) transformed into an inspiring runway for learning as Oak Ridge National Laboratory partnered with United Way and local community schools to host the "Soar into STEM" Traveling Science Fair. 

ORNL’s Traveling Science Fair celebrated its revitalized return after a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, welcoming over 500 local 5th-grade students from underserved areas. The lab partnered with the general aviation airport, located just across the river from downtown Knoxville, to highlight its connection to aviation science. 

Lab exhibits and staff showcased ORNL's innovations in aviation fuels, quiet engine technology and advanced materials as well as expertise in modeling and simulation to optimize aircraft design and performance for greater sustainability.

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Energy Technology Laboratory have developed and 3D printed the lightest crack-free alloy capable of operating without melting at temperatures above 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

To bridge the gap between experimental facilities and supercomputers, experts from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are teaming up with other Department of Energy national laboratories to build a new data streaming pipeline. The pipeline will allow researchers to send their data to the nation’s leading computing centers for analysis in real time even as their experiments are taking place.

Next-generation technologies, such as leading-edge memory storage solutions and brain-inspired neuromorphic computing systems, could touch nearly every aspect of our lives — from the gadgets we use daily to the solutions for major global challenges. These advances rely on specialized materials, including ferroelectrics — materials with switchable electric properties that enhance performance and energy efficiency. A research team led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a novel technique for creating precise atomic arrangements in ferroelectrics, establishing a robust framework for advancing powerful new technologies.

The Summit supercomputer, once the world’s most powerful, is set to be decommissioned by the end of 2024 to make way for the next-generation supercomputer. Over the summer, crews began dismantling Summit’s Alpine storage system, shredding over 40,000 hard drives with the help of ShredPro Secure, a local East Tennessee business. This partnership not only reduced costs and sped up the process but also established a more efficient and secure method for decommissioning large-scale computing systems in the future.

Distinguished materials scientist Takeshi Egami has spent his career revealing the complex atomic structure of metallic glass and other liquids. He studies these materials at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

 

As high-tech companies ramp up construction of massive data centers to meet the business boom in artificial intelligence, one component is becoming an increasingly rare commodity: electricity. With decades of experience in making HPC more energy efficient, the OLCF may serve as a resource for best “bang for the buck” practices in a suddenly burgeoning industry. 

For the first time, the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory will run equipment developed at its research facilities on a commercially available quantum network at EPB Quantum Network powered by Qubitekk. Starting this month, ORNL is testing its Automatic Polarization Compensation, or APC, a key technology needed to convey quantum data across a network while maintaining all its complexities and probabilities. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, or UTC, the first American university to host a permanent connection to a commercially available quantum network, is also participating in the effort to validate the technology's commercial viability.