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

New Discovery Could Better Predict How Semiconductors Weather Abuse

Berkeley Lab scientists at DOE’s Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis are working to improve systems that efficiently convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into fuel.

Physics Researchers Question Calcium-52’s Magic

A multi-institution team led by Gaute Hagen at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory computed the size of the atomic nucleus calcium-48—a magic isotope—and found it had a significantly thinner neutron skin than was previously thought.

Discovery Could Dramatically Boost Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells

Scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a possible secret to dramatically boosting the efficiency of perovskite solar cells hidden in the nanoscale peaks and valleys of the crystalline material.

Climate Study Finds Human Fingerprint in Northern Hemisphere Greening

A multinational team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory Climate Change Science Institute has found the first positive correlation between human activity and enhanced vegetation growth.

See and Sort: Developing Novel Techniques to Visualize Uncultured Microbial Cell Activity

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, utilized a recently refined technique to identify both individual active cells, and single clusters of active bacteria and archaea within microbial communities.

AGS Booster Celebrates a Quarter-Century of Service

Built as part of the accelerator chain that feeds ions to RHIC, the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) Booster at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory is still running strong and could play a significant role in the future of nuclear physics at Brookhaven Lab.

NERSC Staff and Users Readying for Delivery of Cori Phase 2 Knights Landing-Based System in July

For the past year, staff at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) have been preparing users of 20 leading science applications for the arrival of the second phase of its newest supercomputer, Cori.

New Electron Microscope Method Detects Atomic-Scale Magnetism

Scientists can now detect magnetic behavior at the atomic level with a new electron microscopy technique developed by a team from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Uppsala University, Sweden.

CMI Taps the Power of Supercomputing to Find Rare-Earth Refining Alternatives

A research project led by the Critical Materials Institute, a U.S. Department of Energy Innovation Hub, has identified agents for the separation of rare-earth metals that are potentially much less costly and better-performing than those currently used.

Titan Shines Light on High-Temperature Superconductor Pathway

A team led by Thomas Maier of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) used the Titan supercomputer at ORNL to simulate how superconductivity arises in cuprates’ pseudogap phase.

Superconducting Magnet Powers Up After Cross-Country Journey

A team of physicists and engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory has just completed preliminary tests of a 20-ton cylindrical magnet that could form the heart of an upgraded particle detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).

Scientists Seek New Physics Using ORNL’s Intense Neutrino Source

Soon to be deployed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is an experiment to explore new physics associated with neutrinos. The Precision Oscillation and Spectrum Experiment, or PROSPECT, is led by Yale University and includes partners from 14 academic and governmental institutions.