Neutron Scattering at ORNL to the Point Focus on Biofuels US ITER Gets New Director, ORNL 24
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Contents Editorial Infographic . 1 Neutron scattering for a better world 22 Neutron scattering at ORNL To the Point Focus on Biofuels US ITER gets new director, ORNL 24 . Getting to the root of better plants . fuel tech can make ethanol 2 competitive, ORNL home to nine Focus on Transportation highly cited researchers . ORNL engine research supports 26 new fuel development Neutrons 8 . Neutrons open a world of research Focus on Physical Sciences . What makes neutron scattering . Bio-inspired material soaks up 10 unique 28 oceans’ uranium . SNS upgrades will benefit . Right electrolyte doubles 2D 12 researchers 30 material’s ability to store energy Focus on Computing Early Career Award Winners Farewell, Titan: A long-running The future is bright: Nine ORNL 18 . supercomputer with tremendous 32 . researchers take home prestigious impact early career awards . Igniting a new class of combustion Why Science? 20 research . Young researchers explain 42 Time Warp . The church that’s not supposed to 44 be there On the Cover Neutron scattering scientist Hugh O'Neill leads ORNL's Center for Structural Molecular Biology. Image credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL Neutron scattering for a better world eutron science began at Oak Ridge in 1944 when researcher Ernest Wollan took advantage of the world's first N continuously operating nuclear reactor—the X-10 Graphite Reactor—to study the diffraction of neutrons in a single crystal. In the intervening years, neutron scattering has proved to be an indispensable tool for scientific research, with neutron research at ORNL leading the way to such advances as better batteries, more effective drugs, and stronger armor for the military. The ability of neutrons to probe the magnetic properties of materials, to interact with light elements and to travel through materials that would stop X-rays or an electron beam make neutron scattering ideal for research areas ranging from quantum materials to biological systems to industrial applications in energy storage, automotive, aerospace and much more. Seven and a half decades after Wollan's groundbreaking work, ORNL is still at the forefront of neutron scattering research with two world-class facilities: the accelerator-based Spallation Neutron Source, which provides the world's most intense pulsed neutron beams, and the High Flux Isotope Reactor, which provides one of the highest rates of continuous-beam neutrons of any research reactor in the world. In the coming years, an upgrade to the SNS proton accelerator will double its power and increase the flux (quantity of neutrons) produced by SNS, and a second target station at the facility will add new research capabilities in complex materials and samples that need high resolution over a wide range of length and time scales. In this issue of ORNL Review, we look at the history of neutron research from early efforts to understand the atom to the present and beyond (see "Neutrons open a world of research," page 8), we explore the unique characteristics of neutrons and how they allow us to expand our knowledge (see "What makes neutron scattering unique," page 10), and we explain how upgrades at SNS will keep the United States at the cutting edge of neutron research for years to come (see "SNS upgrades will benefit researchers," page 12). Elsewhere in this issue, we profile nine extraordinary young researchers who have received prestigious early-career awards (see stories on pages 32 through 41). Seven received the DOE Early Career Research Award, a lab record and over a quarter of the 27 awarded to the 17 national laboratories. Two others received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S. government's highest honor for scientists and engi- neers in the early years of their careers. Also in this issue, we honor ORNL's Titan supercomputer, which was decommissioned this past August (see "Farewell, Titan: A long-running supercomputer with tremendous impact," page 18). Titan debuted as the world's fastest system in 2012, and as late as last June was ranked as high as number 12 in the world. Among its many achievements, it advanced the production of cellulosic ethanol and helped Southern California prepare for future earthquakes. I hope you enjoy reading about ORNL's contributions to neutron science and other important research stories from around the lab. Thomas Zacharia Laboratory Director Vol. 53, No. 1, 2020 1 TO THE POINT Reactor Sustainability Program Technical emissions. This new technology is called New US director named Integration Office, and national tech- Consolidated Dehydration and Oligomer- for ITER fusion reactor nical director for the Systems Analysis ization, or CADO. Campaign for the DOE Office of Nuclear The analysis, published in the Proceed- Kathy McCarthy has been named Energy’s Fuel Cycle R&D Program. ings of the National Academy of Sciences, director of the US ITER Project Office at McCarthy succeeds Ned Sauthoff, showed that this single-step process ORNL, effective March 2020. who is now advising lab-wide efforts for converting wet ethanol vapor could across the ORNL research portfolio.— produce blendstocks at $2 per gigajoule Morgan McCorkle today and $1.44 per gigajoule in the future as the process is refined, including oper- ating and annualized capital costs. That ORNL fuel tech may would make the blendstock competi- boost ethanol tive with conventional jet fuel produced from oil at historically high prices of A technology developed at ORNL and about $100 per barrel. At $60 per barrel, scaled up by California-based Vertimass the use of existing renewable fuel incen- LLC to convert ethanol into fuels suitable tives results in price parity, the analysis for aviation, shipping and other heavy- found.—Stephanie Seay duty applications can be price-competitive with conventional fuels while retaining the sustainability benefits of bio-based ORNL researchers picked ethanol, according to a new analysis. for grid modernization ORNL worked with technology licensee ORNL researchers will lead two new Vertimass and researchers at 10 other projects and support seven more to Kathy McCarthy institutions on a technoeconomic and enhance the reliability and resilience of life cycle sustainability analysis of the the nation’s power grid as part of DOE's US ITER is managed by ORNL, with process—single-step catalytic conversion 2019 Grid Modernization Lab Call. partner labs Princeton Plasma Physics of ethanol into hydrocarbon blendstocks DOE announced funding of approxi- Laboratory and Savannah River National that can be added to jet, diesel and gaso- mately $80 million over three years for Laboratory, and has the responsibility of line fuels to lower their greenhouse gas 23 projects across the country. ORNL is designing, fabricating and delivering hard- expected to receive approximately $10 ware for ITER, the international experi- million of available funding to support the mental reactor under construction in nine projects on which it collaborates. France. ITER's goal is to produce and study a burning plasma, an important step for This latest round builds upon two fusion energy development. previous solicitations released in 2016 and 2017 by the Grid Modernization Initia- “Kathy is a proven scientific leader who tive, providing a continued focus on reli- combines technical expertise with experi- ability and resilience. The research brings ence successfully managing large and together scientists from DOE’s national complex organizations,” ORNL Director labs with industry and university partners Thomas Zacharia said. to develop efficient, cost-effective solu- McCarthy joins ORNL after three years tions to harden the grid against disruption as vice president for science and tech- and to make it more resilient when events nology and laboratory director for the occur. The projects address challenges Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, where that range from power generation to she has overseen a staff of 650 and grown transmission across vast distances to the the labs’ commercial work. She previously local distribution of electricity by utilities. held a variety of engineering and leader- “We are proud to be a part of the Grid ship roles at Idaho National Laboratory, A pilot reactor, developed by Vertimass and Modernization Initiative and bring our including director of domestic programs located at TechnipFMC, can scale up the world-class expertise for providing inno- process that converts ethanol into fuels suitable in INL’s Nuclear Science and Technology for aviation, shipping and other heavy-duty vative technology solutions to fortify the Directorate, director of the Light Water applications. Credit: TechnipFMC nation’s electricity delivery system,” said 2 www.ornl.gov/ornlreview TO THE POINT the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education. He is a fellow of multiple professional soci- eties and holds numerous patents related to superconductivity, energy storage and solar cells.—Bill Cabage ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ list includes 9 from ORNL Nine ORNL scientists have been named to the 2019 Highly Cited Researchers list released by the Web of Science Group. The list identifies scientists who produced multiple papers ranking in the Moe Khaleel, associate laboratory director and operating contractor of ORNL for the top 1 percent by citations for their field and for energy and environmental sciences Department of Energy. year of publication over the last decade, at ORNL. “A modern, resilient power Paranthaman received the labora- demonstrating significant research