On October 22, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)​​​​​​​granted Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station a 40-year operating license for its new Unit 2 reactor. This is the first nuclear reactor to be granted an operating license by the NRC in two decades.
Pressurized water nuclear reactors in the United States generate about 13 percent of U.S. electricity. Though efficient, these reactors face a unique challenge with stress corrosion cracking (SCC). This type of corrosion is one of the primary life-limiting degradation mechanisms of nickel-base alloy pressure boundary components, such as instrumentation and control rod nozzles, the welds that attach these nozzles to the reactor vessel, and welds that connect feedwater piping to the reactor vessel. As interest grows in a more sustainable and efficient fleet of nuclear reactors across the world, there is increasing interest in characterizing SCC initiation response.
In the latest edition of the Institute for Integrated Catalysis' Transformations, PNNL scientist Bob Weber provides an overview on the value of catalysis to the economy, society, and scientific research in general.
Ryan Stolley from the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis penned the theme article in the current issue of Frontiers in Energy Research on what it takes to build collaboration at an EFRC.
In the 1001 Word Challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy invited the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers to represent their science using cartoons, photos, and original paintings. Check out the entries, including one by CME.
An American Chemical Society Symposium honors DuBois' contributions, including his inorganic chemistry work and his latest award, the American Chemical Society's Award in Inorganic Chemistry.
Dr. Wendy Shaw is one of 31 distinguished young researchers from the United States selected by the National Academy of Sciences to attend the first Indonesian-American Frontiers of Science symposium
Dr. Donghai Mei and Dr. Roger Rousseau, PNNL, and Dr. Wei-Xue Li, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, have organized a symposium to connect across the various divides in catalysis
Scientists at PNNL discuss options for storing solar, wind, and other intermittent power supplies as part of a new video featured on the Public Broadcasting System