University Research | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Department of Energy Scholarship Awarded to University Doctoral Candidate

College of Engineering doctoral candidate Dinesh Adhikari has been named the first University of Nevada, Reno student to receive the prestigious Department of Energy Student Award and the Soil Chemistry Convener's Award.

Discovery Could Lead to New Catalyst Design to Reduce Nitrogen Oxides in Diesel Exhaust

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new reaction mechanism that could be used to improve catalyst designs for pollution-control systems to further reduce emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxides in diesel exhaust.

Puzzling Patches in Earth’s Interior Billions of Years in the Making

A chemical reaction between ancient seawater and iron in Earth’s mantle over eons could explain the formation of mysterious blobs in the planet’s interior that dampen passing seismic waves, Stanford researchers say.

Experiment Near South Pole Reveals How Earth Blocks High-Energy Particles Produced by Nuclear Reactions

For the first time, a science experiment has measured Earth's ability to absorb neutrinos -- the smaller-than-an-atom particles that zoom throughout space and through us by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light.

Mysterious Deep-Earth Seismic Signature Explained

Led by Carnegie’s Ho-kwang “Dave” Mao, new research on oxygen and iron chemistry under the extreme conditions found deep inside the Earth could explain a longstanding seismic mystery called ultralow velocity zones.

$1.1M DOE Grant Will Help Beef Up Biofuels Through Evolutionary Approaches

Researchers at Michigan State University will use a $1.1 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to fight disease in switchgrass by identifying regions of the genome that cause disease resistance. Locating these disease-fighting regions will help improve switchgrass’ viability.

UF Researchers Awarded $7M Grant to Improve How Plants Get Nitrogen and Reduce Pollution

A team of researchers at the universities of Florida and Wisconsin-Madison will use a $7.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to pinpoint genes that could improve plants’ ability to access nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant growth.

Printed Meds Could Reinvent Phamracies adn Drug Research

A technology developed at the University Michigan, can print pure, ultra-precise doses of drugs onto a wide variety of surfaces could one day enable on-site printing of custom-dosed medications at pharmacies, hospitals and other locations. Researchers say it could make life easier for patients who must now take multiple medications every day.

First Open-Access Data From Large Collider Confirm Subatomic Particle Patterns

MIT researchers used the CMS data to reveal, for the first time, a universal feature within jets of subatomic particles, which are produced when high-energy protons collide. Their effort represents the first independent, published analysis of the CMS open data.

Bioenergy Giant Sorghum is High in Yield and Potential

Scientists at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) found sorghum has the potential to help produce yet another good thing: environmentally sustainable, bio-based chemicals and fuels.

Energy Harvested from Evaporation Could Power Much of U.S., Says Study

In the first evaluation of evaporation as a renewable energy source, researchers at Columbia University find that U.S. lakes and reservoirs could generate 325 gigawatts of power, nearly 70 percent of what the United States currently produces.

Hope to Discover Sure Signs of Life on Mars? New Research Says Look for the Element Vanadium

A new paper in the journal Astrobiology suggests NASA and others hunting for proof of Martian biology in the form of “microfossils” could use the element vanadium in combination with Raman spectroscopy on organic material as biosignatures to confirm traces of extraterrestrial life.