2016 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Scientists Find Surprising Magnetic Excitations in a Metallic Compound

An experimental team of researchers originally from Brookhaven Lab and Stony Brook University and from the University of Amsterdam have developed a model to describe the behavior of the metallic compound made of ytterbium, platinum, and lead (Yb2Pt2Pb), leading to a new understanding of how spinions contribute to – but orbital motion is the dominant mechanism for – magnetism.

How to Heal Broken Bonds, Catalyst Style

Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory demonstrated how defects deep inside a zeolite catalyst could be healed, allowing the catalyst to drive reactions in hot water, a common environment for materials involved in converting paper industry waste and other biomass into fuels.

3D Simulations Illuminate Supernova Explosions

Researchers from Michigan State University are using Argonne Leadership Computing Facility’s Mira supercomputer to perform large-scale 3D simulations of the final moments of a supernova’s life cycle. While the 3D simulation approach is still in its infancy, early results indicate that the models are providing a clearer picture of the mechanisms that drive supernova explosions than ever before.

Fertilizer Use Could Reduce Climate Benefit of Cellulosic Biofuels

According to a new, three-year study from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and Michigan State University (MSU), the use of nitrogen fertilizer on switchgrass crops can produce a sharp increase in emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas up to 300 times more harmful than carbon dioxide and a significant driver of global climate change.

PNNL Helps Lead National Microbiome Initiative

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are playing a central role as the nation devotes more than $500 million to understand communities of microorganisms and their role in climate science, food production and human health.

Spinning Electrons Yield Positrons for Research

Using the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at the Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab, a team of researchers has, for the first time, demonstrated a new technique for producing polarized positrons.

Physicist Fatima Ebrahimi Conducts Computer Simulations That Indicate the Efficiency of an Innovative Fusion Start-Up Technique

Physicist Fatima Ebrahimi at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University has for the first time performed computer simulations indicating the efficiency of a start-up technique for doughnut-shaped fusion machines known as tokamaks.

ORNL Researchers Use Strain to Engineer First High-Performance, Two-Way Oxide Catalyst

A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has created the first high-performance, two-way oxide catalyst and filed a patent application for the invention.

Tasty Fat: X-rays Finding the Blueprint of Why Fat is Yummy

Researchers from the University of Guelph have visited the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory for the past three years to use the facility’s bright X-rays to study the structure of edible fats, present in foods like oils, milk fat, cheese and much more.

Cuing Environmental Responses in Fungi

Work led by researchers at the DOE JGI in collaboration with scientists from 31 research centers and universities in 13 countries has captured the genomic sequences of the Mucoromycotina fungi, allowing researchers to build a foundation for translating the fungi genomic potential into practical applications.

Upgraded PIP-II RFQ Successfully Takes First Beam

In March, the Fermilab Accelerator Division successfully sent beam through a newly commissioned linear accelerator. The brand new radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linac, designed and built by a team of engineers and physicists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, will be the start for a proposed upgrade to Fermilab’s 800-MeV superconducting linear accelerator.

How to Make a Battery in 7 Easy Steps

PNNL's semi-automated Advanced Battery Facility enables scientists to test out all kinds of different materials — including lithium-metal, sulfur, sodium and magnesium — to make batteries last longer and store more energy.