Alice Perrin, Alvin M. Weinberg Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, focuses on microstructural changes in nanocrystalline iron and tungsten alloys, which could result in new strategies for material design that resists the detrimental effects of radiation.
Sandia National Laboratories engineers have developed a standardized screening method to determine the most important radioactive isotopes produced by an advanced nuclear reactor in the unlikely event of an incident.
In the first step toward understanding how dogs – and perhaps humans – might adapt to intense environmental pressures such as exposure to radiation, heavy metals, or toxic chemicals, researchers at North Carolina State, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, and the National Institutes of Health found that two groups of dogs living within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, one at the site of the former Chornobyl reactors, and another 16.5 km away in Chornobyl City, showed significant genetic differences between them.
The IIRM-URA was formed to tackle some challenging science with a worthy goal: improve survivability and response in the case of a nuclear attack. The IIRM-URA consists of 15 universities, four national laboratories, and two industrial companies.
Nuclear energy provides a fifth of total U.S. electrical power and half of its clean electricity. With new results from one scientist’s study of computer vision at Argonne National Laboratory’s IVEM facility, it may do even more.
The U.S. Department of Energy presented distinguished team awards to one Argonne team of eight whose conversion of nuclear research reactors makes the world safer, and to one Argonne scientist from a diverse team of 43 whose work advances the future of aviation fuels.
The plasma in a fusion device can erode device walls, releasing particles in a process called sputtering. These particles can reduce a device’s performance and lifespan. In this study, researchers examined how the smoothness of device surfaces changes at small scales over time and how this affects erosion. This research will aid in the future design and operation of fusion power plants.
Sandia National Laboratories, in partnership with Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national labs, has awarded a contract to AMD that funds research and development of advanced memory technologies expected to accelerate high-performance simulation and computing applications in support of the nation’s stockpile stewardship mission.
In Physics of Fluids, researchers simulate an atomic bomb explosion from a typical intercontinental ballistic missile and the resulting blast wave to see how it would affect people sheltering indoors.
The word “exotic” may not spark thoughts of uranium, but Tyler Spano’s investigations of exotic phases of uranium are bringing new knowledge to the nuclear nonproliferation industry. Spano, a nuclear security scientist at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and her colleagues examined four previously understudied phases of uranium oxide: beta (β-), delta (δ-), epsilon UO3 (ε-UO3) and beta U3O8 (β-U3O8).
Brad Roberts has received one of the highest honors bestowed by the Government of Japan. The director of the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Roberts has been given the Order of the Rising Sun.
For the first time, researchers produce more energy from fusion than was used to drive it, promising further discovery in clean power and nuclear weapons stewardship.
Although the likelihood of a terrorist nuclear attack is extremely low, a lot of work is required to prepare for such an unthinkable event. That’s why a response team assembled by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently trained in eastern Idaho’s desert on ways to collect and analyze simulated debris from a nuclear detonation. Nuclear forensics—the science of determining the origin of nuclear material—is an essential element of the United States’ strategy to prevent nuclear terrorism.
Recycling used nuclear fuel makes the most of nuclear power’s carbon-free energy potential. Argonne has received major funding to develop technologies that may result in a sustainable fuel stock and a reduction in U.S. dependency on fossil fuels.
The marketplace debut of Idaho National Laboratory’s Colorimetric Detection of Actinides, or CoDeAc, isn’t the finish to the award-winning technology’s story. According to its inventors and now investors, it’s just the beginning of a new chapter.
“CoDeAc has a bright future,” INL Researcher and CoDeAc inventor Catherine Riddle said. “As it gains interest and expands, there will be new opportunities for future colorimetric detection products and a diverse range of new technologies geared towards rapid radionuclide detection.”
KIMM has developed a simulator that enables operators to simulate underwater laser and plasma cutting and to operate equipment in a condition, similar to the actual dismantling environment by virtualizing the remote nuclear dismantling system.
More than 140 U.S. college teams competed to test their cyber defense skills and protect a fictional electric vehicle manufacturer’s solar installation from simulated cyberattacks.
Students from the Little Village Lawndale High School Campus saw how Argonne scientists — many of Hispanic/Latino heritage — perform pivotal research during the 17th annual Hispanic/Latino Education Outreach Day.
Nuclear energy is an exciting carbon-free energy source. Recent work at Argonne National Laboratory shows how nuclear energy can improve and why it is such an enticing resource in the fight against climate change.
To simulate stellar novae accurately on computers, researchers need accurate inputs for nuclear reaction rates. Nuclear physicists have now determined an important and challenging proton-capture reaction rate using laboratory experiments. A state-of-the-art nova simulation incorporates the new experimental information, allowing physicists to compare the results for comparison to actual nova observations.
Argonne researchers recently contributed to new Department of Energy reports aimed at securing America’s clean energy supply chain and minimizing potential disruptions.
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science announced renewed funding for an Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) led by DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory to study "Molten Salts in Extreme Environments" (MSEE). This center, originally established in 2018, focuses on understanding the properties of molten salts--a class of materials with potential applications in energy technologies, particularly in nuclear power.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory physicist Elizabeth “Libby” Johnson (1921-1996), one of the world’s first nuclear reactor operators, standardized the field of criticality safety with peers from ORNL and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Her work came on the heels of two incidents involving nuclear materials that took the lives of two government researchers at the end of the Manhattan Project.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Kim Budil has announced that the 2022 John S. Foster, Jr. Medal winner is Miriam “Mim” E. John, Vice President Emerita of Sandia National Laboratories.
The effects of increased sediment load in rivers during the recovery phase after a nuclear accident are a key consideration in decontamination efforts. Researchers from Japan have discovered that with some planning, unsustainable effects from these efforts could be mitigated.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought the threat of nuclear warfare to the forefront. But how would modern nuclear detonations impact the world today? A new study published today provides stark information on the global impact of nuclear war.
Improved ceramics manufacturing, breakthrough medical screening tests and a more convenient way to detect nuclear particles earned funding from the latest round of a Florida State University program that helps researchers bring their work to the marketplace.
It’s one of the most persistent questions in nuclear energy: What about the waste? A new collaboration between Idaho National Laboratory and the University of Utah hopes to answer that question by making fuel recycling a reality for advanced reactors.
Los Alamos National Laboratory this week announced the selection of Evelyn Mullen as the new executive officer of the Weapons directorate, effective April 25.
High-tech advances in weapons technologies and a return of ‘great power nuclear politics’, risk the world ‘sleepwalking’ into a nuclear age vastly different from the established order of the Cold War, according to new research undertaken at the University of Leicester.
Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and partner U.S. national laboratories will compare their Geologic Disposal Safety Assessment software framework to the safety assessment software of international peers at a late-April workshop.The Sandia-led Geologic Disposal Safety Assessment framework is a computer modeling system designed to answer critical safety assessment questions about future disposal options for spent nuclear fuel deep underground and the system of tunnels, containers and possible concrete-like barriers used to keep the radioactive material contained far from the surface and water sources, said Emily Stein, a Sandia manager overseeing the development of the framework.
Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Latiff, an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame, offers context and advice on modern warfare and how to “step back from the brink” of war in his book “Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War.”
Sandia National Laboratories recently updated the Maccs code to better aid the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the global nuclear industry in assessing the consequences of nuclear accidents. The Maccs code can also evaluate the potential health and environmental risks posed by advanced nuclear reactors and small modular nuclear reactors.