News Archive | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Harnessing Magnetic Vortices for Making Nanoscale Antennas

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory are seeking ways to synchronize the magnetic spins in nanoscale devices to build tiny yet more powerful signal-generating or receiving antennas and other electronics.

Multilayer, Microscale Solar Cells Enable Ultrahigh Efficiency Power Generation

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign use a printing process to assemble tiny cells into multilayer stacks for extraordinary levels of photovoltaic conversion efficiency.

Squaring the Circle in Biofuels?

Researchers produce a new type of plant fiber that supports normal growth while easing the difficulties of conversion to fuel.

‘Sweet Spot’ For Salty Water

Oak Ridge National Lab and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute simulations point to new material’s potential in water purification.

Secretary Moniz's Testimony Before the Senate Committee on Appropriations

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz's statement to the Senate Committee on Appropriations on driving innovation through federal investments.

How to Create Nanowires Only Three Atoms Wide with an Electron Beam

Junhao Lin, a Vanderbilt University Ph.D. student and visiting scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has found a way to use a finely focused beam of electrons to create some of the smallest wires ever made.

‘Double-duty’ Electrolyte Enables New Chemistry for Longer-lived Batteries

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new and unconventional battery chemistry aimed at producing batteries that last longer than previously thought possible.

Discovering Diversity, One Cell at a Time

The game where one has to guess how many jelly beans or marbles can fill a jar should never be played with the cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus. By some estimates, in a single liter of water as many as 100 million cells of this tiny bacterium can be found. These important organisms serve as the base of the ocean food chain and are thought to be responsible for providing about 20% of the oxygen produced by the planet each year.

Students from California and Massachusetts win DOE’s 24th National Science Bowl

Competition highlights importance of investing in next generation of leaders in science.

Scientists Watch High-temperature Superconductivity Emerge out of Magnetism

Scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have shown for the first time how high-temperature superconductivity emerges out of magnetism in an iron pnictide, a class of materials with great potential for making devices that conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency.

It’s Time for the Final Answers and Winning Rewards

The Finals of the 2014 National Science Bowl are happening this weekend. Keep checking back for updates and results of your favorite teams.

Atomic Switcheroo Explains Origins of Thin-Film Solar Cell Mystery

A research team from ORNL, the University of Toledo and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory used electron microscopy and computational simulations to explore the physical origins of treating cadmium-tellluride (CdTe) solar cell materials with cadmium-chloride to improve their efficiency.