2014 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Energy Secretary Moniz Announces 2013 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award Winners

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz today announced six exceptional U.S. scientists and engineers as recipients of the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for their contributions in research and development that supports the Energy Department’s science, energy and national security missions.

Stanford Scientists Discover a Novel Way to Make Ethanol Without Corn or Other Plants

Stanford scientists have created a copper-based catalyst that produces large quantities of ethanol from carbon monoxide gas at room temperature.

Dark Matter Hunt: LUX Experiment Reaches Critical Phase

An experiment located in the bottom of a gold mine in South Dakota, US, could offer the best chance yet of detecting dark matter.

Organic Solar Cells More Efficient With Molecules Face-to-Face

New research from North Carolina State University and UNC-Chapel Hill reveals that energy is transferred more efficiently inside of complex, three-dimensional organic solar cells when the donor molecules align face-on, rather than edge-on, relative to the acceptor.

Arid Areas Absorb Unexpected Amounts of Carbon

Researchers led by a Washington State University biologist have found that arid areas, among the biggest ecosystems on the planet, take up an unexpectedly large amount of carbon as levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere.

Groundbreaking Optical Device Could Enhance Optical Information Processing and Computers

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have built an optical device that may lead to new and more powerful computers that run faster and cooler.

Self-Assembled Silver Superlattices Create Molecular Machines with Hydrogen-Bond “Hinges” and Moving “Gears”

Researchers from Georgia Tech and the University of Toledo did a combined computational and experimental study of self-assembled silver-based structures known as superlattices has revealed an unusual and unexpected behavior: arrays of gear-like molecular-scale machines that rotate in unison when pressure is applied to them.

Researchers Design Trees That Make it Easier to Produce Pulp

Researchers have genetically engineered trees that will be easier to break down to produce paper and biofuel, a breakthrough that will mean using fewer chemicals, less energy and creating fewer environmental pollutants.

Persistent Analysis Fills in 50-Year Gap

Researchers analyze data from an experiment conducted at DOE's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility to finally pin down two key characteristics that had never been measured before of an elusive particle, the Lambda(1405).

Ames Lab Researchers Show Polymer-Coated Nanocubes Form Complex Structures

Nanoparticles assembled in new ways hold the promise of a wave of new high-tech materials that could offer high strength, enhanced magnetic properties, light reflectivity or absorption, use as catalysts and much more.

April 17, 2014 Pre-Proposal Conference Set for Brookhaven National Laboratory Mangement-and-Operations Contract Competition

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that it has scheduled a Pre-Proposal Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to discuss the recently released Request for Proposals (RFP) for the competitive selection of an approximately $3.25 billion, five-year, management-and-operations contract for BNL.

Researchers Gain Insight Into Organic Solar Cell Efficiency

Research from North Carolina State University reveals that organic solar cell efficiency is based upon a delicate balance between the size and purity of the interior layers, or domains. These findings may lead to better designs and improved performance in organic solar cells.