Recent News Releases

ORNL's Office of Communications and External Relations works with national, regional, and local media outlets on news stories about the laboratory.

For more information on ORNL and its research and development activities, please refer to one of our Media Contacts. If you have a general media-related question or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov.

Forest response project FACEs the end OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 28, 2009 — After 12 years, an experiment focused on forest growth and climate change comes to an end, and researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are eager to collect and analyze data to see if their predictions match results.
Spallation Neutron Source sees first target replacement OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 27, 2009 — Having outlasted all expectations of its service life, the original mercury target of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science's record-setting neutron science facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is being replaced for the first time.
Goyal earns World Technology Network honor OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 27, 2009 — Amit Goyal of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Materials Science and Technology Division has been elected fellow of the World Technology Network for his innovative work in the materials science field.
Spring cold snap helps with stream ecosystem research OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 23, 2009 — A rare April freeze in 2007 provided researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory with further evidence that climate change could have negative effects on stream and forest ecosystems.
ORNL advances therapy for Parkinson's, other diseases OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 22, 2009 — By miniaturizing a device that monitors the delivery of healthy cells, researchers at Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing a powerful instrument for physicians to use in treating patients with Parkinson's syndrome, brain tumors and other diseases.
Work begins on first Recovery Act funded demolition project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory    OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 20, 2009 — The Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has begun cleanup and demolition of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory, a long-vacant facility on the Laboratory's central campus. Contractors expect to employ approximately 30 workers for the project, which is slated for completion by January 2010.
ORNL researchers win eight R&D 100 awards OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 20, 2009 — Researchers and engineers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have won eight R&D 100 Awards, which are presented each year by R&D Magazine in recognition of the year's most significant technological innovations.
Oak Ridge Supercomputers Provide First Simulation of Abrupt Climate Change     OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 16, 2009 — At the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the world's fastest supercomputer for unclassified research is simulating abrupt climate change and shedding light on an enigmatic period of natural global warming in Earth's relatively recent history. The work, led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), is featured in the July 17 issue of the journal Science and provides valuable new data about the causes and effects of global climate change.
ORNL's Blue, Qu, Robinson recognized OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 14, 2009 — Three researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been recognized by national societies for their recent accomplishments in science and engineering.
President cites ORNL's Gary A. Baker as leading early career scientist OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 10, 2009 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher Gary A. Baker has been named to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Baker is one of 12 Department of Energy scientists to receive the presidential award.
H.T. Hackney, Knoxville Area Transit team with ORNL, DOT    OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 7, 2009 — Local distributor H.T. Hackney and Knoxville Area Transit have teamed up with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Department of Transportation to help improve national highway safety, energy efficiency and performance of America's medium-class 6 and 7 trucks and transit buses.
Power Grid Expert Liu Named Fourth UT-ORNL Governor's Chair KNOXVILLE, Tenn., July 6, 2009 — Yilu Liu, an expert in the technologies used to monitor power grids and a researcher in ways to create the next generation "smart grid," has been named the fourth University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chair.
Keller to lead ORNL's Biological and Environmental Sciences OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 29, 2009 — Martin Keller has been named to lead the Biological and Environmental Sciences Directorate (BESD) at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The appointment is effective July 1.
Four supercomputers at Oak Ridge computing complex among world's 25 fastest OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 24, 2009 — Jaguar XT5, a Cray high-performance computing system component at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, remains the world's fastest supercomputer for unclassified research, according to a roster released this week in Hamburg. The TOP500 list named four machines at the ORNL computing complex among the world's 25 swiftest. All told, five Oak Ridge machines made the list.
ORNL kicks off 2009 United Way campaign    OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 23, 2009 — University of Tennessee head football coach Lane Kiffin helped the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory kick off its 2009 United Way campaign with a rally in front of hundreds of employees.
ORNL appoints first Alvin Weinberg fellows OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 23, 2009 — Four early-career researchers have received the first Alvin M. Weinberg Fellowship appointments from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Nuclear engineering program prepares future researchers OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 18, 2009 — An Oak Ridge National Laboratory program for nuclear engineering students is helping provide the workforce to produce carbon-free nuclear power for the future.
ORNL welcomes a record number of summer interns    OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 17, 2009 — A record number of undergraduate and graduate students at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are learning firsthand about science and technologies that could change lives.
ORNL finding could help electronics industry enter new phase OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 16, 2009 — Electronic devices of the future could be smaller, faster, more powerful and consume less energy because of a discovery by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.