INL News Archive

Feature Story

Feature Story

In 1951, the desert of eastern Idaho hosted Experimental Breeder Reactor-I, the first nuclear reactor to generate a usable amount of electricity. Four years later, researchers followed that success with...

Feature Story

Women played an instrumental role in shaping the field of nuclear science. Nobel Prize-winner Marie Curie was part of a team that discovered radioactivity. Katharine Way, a leading scientist on...

Feature Story

Throughout its 75 years, Idaho National Laboratory’s ranks have been filled with multi-generational family members, many of them cases of the apple not falling far from the tree. For Rob...

Feature Story

Maycee Radford had never been to an Idaho Falls Spud Kings hockey game. In fact, young Maycee had never been to a hockey game of any kind. Ever. So, when...

Feature Story

Editor’s note: This story is partially adapted from a Tribal historical write-up titled “The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.” One story about the land where the Idaho National Laboratory Site now sits begins...

Feature Story

As nuclear energy is increasingly recognized as a vital component of the clean energy transition, American companies have answered the call with dozens of new reactor and fuel designs. But...

Feature Story

After two decades, laboratory reopens for spent fuel testing On a chilly December evening in eastern Idaho, a semi-tractor trailer truck pulls off the desert highway and up to the...

Feature Story

People often think of radiation as the basis for carbon-free nuclear power. But radiation can also save lives. That’s especially true in hospitals where professionals use nuclear medicine to make...

Feature Story

In Idaho Falls’ 159-year history, it would be hard to dispute the importance of May 18, 1949. That’s the day the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) announced the city as...

Feature Story

Idaho National Laboratory researchers love seeing their technologies at work in the marketplace, bolstering the nation’s economy, energy industry and communities. “It’s a win for America because these technologies provide...

Feature Story

Perhaps one of the most ubiquitous and powerful images of the ongoing pollution crisis is that of plastic floating in the ocean or littered across once-paradisiacal sandy beaches. The plastic...

Feature Story

When it comes to inspiring young American girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math – STEM – is anyone better suited to the task than … um...

Feature Story

United States’ policymakers, auto manufacturers, energy companies and ultimately citizens are investing trillions of dollars into electrifying vehicles. The purpose is to increase new electric vehicle sales to more than...

Feature Story

Idaho National Laboratory researchers and Idaho State University (ISU) nuclear engineering students developed the world’s first nuclear reactor digital twin — a virtual replica of ISU’s AGN-201 reactor — in...

Feature Story

On Earth Day of 2021, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) announced an ambitious plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2031. At INL, reaching net-zero is a monumental task. The laboratory...

Feature Story

As 2023 comes to an end, we want to showcase many groundbreaking accomplishments carried out by our talented workforce at Idaho National Laboratory. INL is one of 17 national labs...

Feature Story

As the United States moves toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the nation will need a broad mix of clean energy projects to carry the load. To build these projects,...

Feature Story

As the world clamors for carbon-free power, U.S. nuclear reactor developers have responded with a multitude of advanced reactor designs. These reactors would produce efficient, flexible heat and electricity. Nuclear...

Feature Story

Whether it’s Edward Jenner, whose development of vaccines has likely saved billions of lives, or Marie Curie, whose theory of radioactivity helped unlock the mysteries of the atom, develop radiation...

Feature Story

As the United States works to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, different energy sectors will require different solutions. Renewables and nuclear energy will help decarbonize electricity production, and the...

Feature Story

Measuring battery health and safety continuously is an important challenge as more electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage devices and other clean energy technologies enter the market. Industry needs better ways...

Feature Story

In the classic baseball film “Field of Dreams,” Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) builds a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield, adhering to ghostly whispers that if he...

Feature Story

Ninety-seven percent of U.S. dams don’t make electricity. A new tool could help tap that resource. The era of building big dams may be over in the United States, but...

Against the backdrop of a windy Australian morning, the camera of a remotely piloted aircraft system zooms in on a military scene, complete with toy soldiers, helicopters and tanks. That...