2017 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Neutrons Run Enzyme’s Reactivity for Better Biofuel Production

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and North Carolina State University used a combination of X-ray and neutron crystallography to determine the detailed atomic structure of a specialized fungal enzyme.

New Class of ‘Soft’ Semiconductors Could Transform HD Displays

A new type of semiconductor may be coming to a high-definition display near you. Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that a class of semiconductor called halide perovskites is capable of emitting multiple, bright colors from a single nanowire at resolutions as small as 500 nanometers.

ALCC Program Awards ALCF Computing Time to 24 Projects

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) ASCR Leadership Computing Challenge (ALCC) has awarded 24 projects a total of 2.1 billion core-hours at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF). The one-year awards are set to begin July 1.

World’s Biggest Neutrino Experiment Moves One Step Closer

A prototype detector - a stepping-stone to the future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment - has recorded its first particle tracks at CERN, an extremely precise method for measuring neutrinos.

2-D Material’s Traits Could Send Electronics R&D Spinning in New Directions

An international team of researchers, working at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley, fabricated an atomically thin material and measured its exotic and durable properties that make it a promising candidate for a budding branch of electronics known as “spintronics.”

Ames Lab Scientists’ Surprising Discovery: Making Ferromagnets Stronger by Adding Non-Magnetic Element

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory discovered that they could functionalize magnetic materials through a thoroughly unlikely method, by adding amounts of the virtually non-magnetic element scandium to a gadolinium-germanium alloy.

Record-Setting Seismic Simulations Run on NERSC’s Cori System

Record-setting seismic simulations run earlier this year on the Cori supercomputer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) were the subject of two presentations at the ISC High Performance conference in Frankfurt, Germany last week.

New Efficient, Low-Temperature Catalyst for Converting Water and CO to Hydrogen Gas and CO2

An international team of researchers that included Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists has developed a new low-temperature catalyst for producing high-purity hydrogen gas while simultaneously using up carbon monoxide.

A Single Electron’s Tiny Leap Sets Off ‘Molecular Sunscreen’ Response

A new X-ray laser technique developed at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will help scientists study a wide range of organic molecules that respond to light, from DNA building blocks to plastic products and receptors in your eyes.

Study Sheds Light on How Bacterial Organelles Assemble

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and Michigan State University are providing the clearest view yet of an intact bacterial microcompartment, revealing at atomic-level resolution the structure and assembly of the organelle’s protein shell.

PPPL-led Team Wins Major Award of Time on DOE Supercomputers for Fusion Studies in 2017

A nationwide team of researchers led by physicist C.S. Chang of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has won the use of 269.9 million supercomputer hours to complete an extreme-scale study of the complex edge region of fusion plasmas.

Chicago Quantum Exchange to Create Technologically Transformative Ecosystem

The University of Chicago is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to launch an intellectual hub for advancing academic, industrial and governmental efforts in the science and engineering of quantum information.