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

UCF Physicist Selected for $750,000 Early Career Energy Grant

University of Central Florida physics assistant professor Michael Chini is one of 84 scientists selected for the Office of Science Early Career Awards. He will conduct research in the area of atomic, molecular and optical physics, which holds the promise of providing new ways to generate energy.

Shining the Light: FSU Researchers Use Photons to Separate Metal Ions

A Florida State University research team is using a simple, readily available energy source to separate metal ions, a process that could help purify water or even recycle nuclear waste.

Princeton Scientists Discover a 'Tuneable' Novel Quantum State of Matter

An international team of researchers led by Princeton physicist Zahid Hasan has discovered a quantum state of matter that can be “tuned” at will — and it’s 10 times more tuneable than existing theories can explain. This level of manipulability opens enormous possibilities for next-generation nanotechnologies and quantum computing.

Scientists Detect Most Common Way that Higgs Bosons Decay

The new discovery is a big step forward in the quest to understand how the Higgs enables fundamental particles to acquire mass.

An Unexpected Gray Area Could Help Bring About Long-lasting Solar Cells

UW-Madison engineers found a way to dramatically extend the lifespan of solar energy-harvesting devices, which use energy from sunlight to generate hydrogen from water.

A Big Spark for Energy Research

The University of Delaware has won a $12.8 million, four-year funding renewal from the U.S. Department of Energy for the continued operation of the Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation (CCEI).

Unraveling Titanium Dioxide's Self-Cleaning Ability

An international collaboration between the labs of Melissa Hines, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, and Ulrike Diebold, professor of surface science from the Technical University of Vienna, Austria, has come to the surprising conclusion that these self-cleaning surfaces are covered by one of the oldest known cleaning agents: simple vinegar.

Pushing the Plasma Density Limit

Researchers at MIT performed experiments on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak to demonstrate how microwaves can be used to overcome barriers to steady-state fusion reactor operation.

MIT Fusion Collaboration Receives Renewed Funding

As part of an initiative to support the development of nuclear fusion as a future practical energy source, the U. S. Department of Energy is renewing three-year funding for two Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) projects on the Wendelstein7-X (W7-X) stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany.

Machine Learning Keeps Particle Physicists from a Lucy-and-Ethel Situation

A review article from a William & Mary post-doc looks at how artificial intelligence is used in the quest to understand the fundamental particles of nature, discussing the various tests necessary to validate the different machine-learning tools and quantify the uncertainties built into the process.

Over 4,000 Tour FRIB and NSCL During Public Open House

The six-hour open house, made possible by 150 volunteers, offered an array of experiences for all ages. Tours were held in the currently operational experimental areas in NSCL that will be used in FRIB experiments, and visitors could tour the FRIB linear accelerator currently under construction.

Hedayat Awarded DOE Early Career Research Funding

Reza Hedayat, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Colorado School of Mines, has been selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program. Hedayat will receive $750,000 over five years to support the development of novel multiscale experiments to identify the geophysical signatures accompanying subsurface crack network growth.