2018 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

A Long View of Science and Innovation with Yarom Polsky

Yarom Polsky’s diverse background in private and public-sector research has given him a knack for recognizing opportunities to advance the state-of-the-art, and he parlays that knowledge into successful innovation as an engineer, group leader, and program manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Assessing the Impact of Hurricanes on Puerto Rico’s Forests

Building on methods they used to assess the impact of hurricanes such as Katrina, Gustav, and Rita on forests and tree mortality, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have produced a rapid mapping of the disturbance intensity across Puerto Rico’s forests with the help of Google Earth Engine.

The Nucleus: Coming Soon in 3D!

Physicists at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are working toward getting their first CT scans of the inner workings of the nucleus. A measurement of quarks in helium nuclei demonstrates that 3D imaging of the inner structure of the nucleus is now possible.

Plasma Bubbles Help Trigger Massive Magnetic Events in Outer Space

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have discovered key conditions that give rise to fast magnetic reconnection, the process that triggers solar flares, auroras, and geomagnetic storms that can disrupt signal transmissions and other electrical activities, including cell phone service.

Converting CO2 into Usable Energy

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory are part of a scientific collaboration that has identified a new electrocatalyst that efficiently converts CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO), a highly energetic molecule.

Faces of Summit: Building a Better Summit

Technology Integration Group Leader Sudharshan Vazhkudai and Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility team members work with vendors to optimize Summit for big science.

A Marriage of Light-Manipulation Technologies

In the collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Harvard University, researchers have, for the first time, integrated two technologies widely used in applications such as optical communications, bio-imaging and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems that scan the surroundings of self-driving cars and trucks.

Scientists Confirm Century-Old Speculation on the Chemistry of a High-Performance Battery

Scientists have discovered a novel chemical state of the element manganese. This chemical state, first proposed about 90 years ago, enables a high-performance, low-cost sodium-ion battery that could quickly and efficiently store and distribute energy produced by solar panels and wind turbines across the electrical grid.

Neutrons Reveal Promising Properties of Novel Antioxidant Polymer

Using neutrons at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, researchers from ORNL and the University of Alabama at Birmingham studied the complementary properties of a combined synthetic antioxidant with tannic acid to create a versatile material that could potentially improve drug delivery methods and other biomedical applications.

On the Way: A Better Analysis of Ice in Clouds

Because the dynamism and variability of the ice in clouds are not well known nor well represented in models, a multi-institution, three-year project to improve the way ice microphysics is represented in these earth system models is underway, supported by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility.

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry Announces $30 Million for Small Business Research and Development Grants

Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) will award 179 grants totaling $30 million to 149 small businesses in 36 states. Funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, today’s selections are for Phase I research and development.

Titan Powers Data Dive into Tropical Soil Microbes

Using high-performance computing, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led research team analyzed how the availability of phosphorous affects microbes’ foraging strategies in a tropical ecosystem.