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

The Exascale Computing Project (ECP) Announces $39.8 Million in First-Round Application Development Awards

The Department of Energy’s Exascale Computing Project (ECP) today announced its first round of funding with the selection of 15 application development proposals for full funding and seven proposals for seed funding, representing teams from 45 research and academic organizations.

Award-Winning Students Continue 25-Year Tradition of Pursuing Fusion at General Atomics

General Atomics said farewell to ten summer interns who completed the prestigious Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and thanked them for their diligence and ingenuity as they worked on experiments at both GA's Inertial Fusion Technologies program and the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, the nation's largest magnetic fusion energy facility.

New Perovskite Research Discoveries May Lead to Solar Cell and LED Advances

Lead-halide perovskites have become one of the most promising semiconductors for solar cells due to their low cost, easier processability, and high power conversion efficiencies. Scientists at the Ames Laboratory found that there can be significant impurities or “dopants” permeating the material, which could significantly affect the material’s chemistry, moisture stability, and transport properties - depending on how the material is made.

SLAC and Stanford Team Finds a Tough New Catalyst for Use in Renewable Fuels Production

Researchers at Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have developed a tough new catalyst that carries out a solar-powered reaction 100 times faster than ever before, works better as time goes on and stands up to acid.

Blowing Bubbles to Catch Carbon Dioxide

Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico (UNM) have created a powerful new way to capture carbon dioxide from coal- and gas-fired electricity plants with a bubble-like membrane that harnesses the power of nature to reduce CO2 emissions efficiently.

NREL Discovery Creates Future Opportunity in Quantum Computing

Scientists at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered a use for perovskites that runs counter to the intended usage of the hybrid organic-inorganic material.

When Nanofabrication Leads to Nanoscience: Optics Developed at the CFN Bring NSLS-II's Ultra-Bright X-rays into Focus for Scientific Imaging

Optics are critical components in a one-of-a-kind x-ray microscope that was recognized with a 2016 Microscopy Today Innovation Award and named a 2016 R&D 100 Award finalist.

Researchers Peel Back Another Layer of Chemistry with ‘Tender’ X-rays

Scientists can now directly probe a previously hard-to-see layer of chemistry thanks to a unique X-ray toolkit developed at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Argonne Theorists Solve a Long-Standing Fundamental Problem

Scientists from Argonne National Laboratory formulated a new method to provide a general and exact solution for any system at any energy, a solution that will benefit many areas of physics, chemistry, materials science, nanoscience and biology.

Emilio Ramirez: Path to Biomass Research Full of Twists, Turns and Personal Discovery

Ramirez, a California native who is now a University of Tennessee doctoral candidate working with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, acquired his first experience with bioenergy as the lead operator of a biomass circulating fluidized-bed combustion facility.

SLAC’s High-Speed ‘Electron Camera’ Films Atomic Nuclei in Vibrating Molecules

An ultrafast “electron camera” at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has made the first direct snapshots of atomic nuclei in molecules that are vibrating within millionths of a billionth of a second after being hit by a laser pulse.

Major Next Steps for Fusion Energy Based on the Spherical Tokamak Design

Physicists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy are considering the design and materials for the next step in fusion reactions research – a device called a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility that could become a pilot plant and serve as a forerunner for a commercial fusion reactor.