Infusing data science and artificial intelligence into electron microscopy could advance energy storage, quantum information science, and materials design.
In recognition of Nuclear Science Week on Oct. 19-23, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reflects on more than half a century of advancing nuclear science for the nation’s energy, environment, and security frontiers.
An international team used PNNL microscopy to answer questions about how uranium dioxide—used in nuclear power plants—might behave in long-term storage.
A new radiation-resistant material for the efficient capture of noble gases xenon and krypton makes it safer and cheaper to recycle spent nuclear fuel.
A 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that knocked out a nuclear power plant helped inspire PNNL computational scientists looking for clues of future nuclear reactor mishaps by tracking radioactive iodine.
The world’s largest scientific society honored Sue B. Clark, a PNNL and WSU chemist, for contributions toward resolving our legacy of radioactive waste, advancing nuclear safeguards, and developing landmark nuclear research capabilities.
PNNL and Argonne researchers developed and tested a chemical process that successfully captures radioactive byproducts from used nuclear fuel so they could be sent to advanced reactors for destruction while also producing electrical power.
A gathering of international experts in Portland, Oregon, explored the future of electron microscopy and surfaced potential solutions in areas including new instrument designs, high-speed detectors, and data analytics capabilities.
A multi-institute team develops an imaging method that reveals how uranium dioxide (UO2) reacts with air. This could improve nuclear fuel development and opens a new domain for imaging the group of radioactive elements known as actinides.
Researchers apply numerical simulations to understand more about a sturdy material and how its basic structure responds to and resists radiation. The outcomes could help guide development of the resilient materials of the future.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and PNNL partnered to complete—in record time—an environmental impact statement for the nation’s first small modular nuclear reactor, to be sited at Clinch River, Tenn.
It’s hot in there! PNNL researchers take a close, but nonradioactive, look at metal particle formation in a nuclear fuel surrogate material. What they found will help fill knowledge gaps and could lead to better nuclear fuel designs.
Researchers used novel methods to safely create and analyze plutonium samples. The approaches could prove influential in future studies of the radioactive material, benefitting research in legacy, national security and nuclear fuels.