Keerti S. Kappagantula, a scientist in PNNL’s Energy Processes and Materials Division, was featured in ASM International’s Women in Engineering Series.

Josef "Pepa" Matyas, a materials scientist in PNNL’s Nuclear Sciences Division, has been elected a fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He will be recognized at the ACerS annual meeting on September 30, 2019, in Portland, Ore.

A new technology that offers a novel way to manufacture extrusions with unprecedented improvements in material properties recently received a U.S. patent.

Xenon search successful! A new scanning transmission electron microscope helps PNNL researchers find xenon deep in a section of nuclear fuel cladding.

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.

PNNL is advancing scientific frontiers and addressing challenges in energy, the environment and national security. So, in no particular order, here are PNNL's top 10 research accomplishments of 2018

New technique developed by PNNL successfully joins thicker aluminum alloys to steel

PNNL leads team to accelerate development of affordable carbon fiber composites

PNNL will help companies make lighter weight vehicles.

In fast-neutron reactors, fuel is sealed in ~7 millimeter diameter steel tubes called cladding. When a high-energy "fast" neutron strikes an atom in the steel, it can knock the atom out of place, like a cue ball striking another billiard ball. This leaves two types of damage in the metal: an empty spot where the atom was, and the displaced atom wedged between other atoms. Over time, these defects typically drive undesirable rearrangement of the microstructure, potentially reducing the life of the cladding.

PNNL researchers have demonstrated a process for the expanded use of lightweight aluminum in cars and trucks at the speed, scale, quality and consistency required by the auto industry.