Critical Materials Institute researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Arizona State University studied the mineral monazite, an important source of rare-earth elements, to enhance methods of recovering critical materials for energy, defense and manufacturing applications.

Rare-earth elements occur together naturally in mineral ores such as monazite but are economically challenging to recover. New approaches to separate the valuable ore from unwanted materials are needed.

Merlin Theodore, a researcher at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received a presidential appointment to the National Science Board. Theodore is one of eight new board members announced by President Biden; she will join the 25-member board for a six-year term.

Theodore is the first full-time researcher from a national laboratory to serve on the National Science Board, the governing board for the National Science Foundation, or NSF.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have identified a mechanism in a 3D-printed alloy – termed “load shuffling” — that could enable the design of better-performing lightweight materials for vehicles.

A team of scientists led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered the gene in agave that governs when the plant goes dormant and used it to create poplar trees that nearly doubled in size, increasing biomass yield for biofuels production and carbon sequestration.

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.