2019 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Study of Quark Speeds Finds a Solution for a 35-year Physics Mystery

MIT physicists now have an answer to a question in nuclear physics that has puzzled scientists for three decades: Why do quarks move more slowly inside larger atoms?

Fossil Fuel Combustion Is the Main Contributor to Black Carbon Around the Arctic, International Study Finds

An international team conducted the study at sites in Russia, Canada, Sweden and Norway, with Baylor University researchers contributing measurements for Alaska.

Superconductors, the Future of Low-cost Energy, Focus of Newly Awarded Grant

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physics was awarded $635,964 from the United States Department of Energy to continue research into improving the control and efficiency of energy production, storage and use by connecting theoretical and experimental physics of superconductor materials to find more proficient ways to transport energy.

Researchers Flood Boundaries of Chemistry

With new funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, researchers at UC San Diego are collecting data on the properties of materials, like water, apply it to machine learning, optimize the material through modifications based on simulations and then synthesize an ideal material that could be used, for example, to extract water from the atmosphere.

SRU Students and Faculty Collaborate on Research Project at Berkeley Lab

Thanks to a faculty-student research grant from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and a connection between a Slippery Rock University computer science professor and a Berkeley employee, three SRU students were hired as temporary Berkeley employees, joining the more than 4,200 scientists, engineers, faculty, postdoctoral scholars and graduate and undergraduate students currently on staff.

X-rays Reveal Why Adding a Bit of Salt Improves Perovskite Solar Cells

A team of researchers has reported new findings about perovskites that could pave the way to developing low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells. Using high-intensity X-ray mapping, they explain why adding small amounts of cesium and rubidium salt improves the performance of a promising class of solar cell materials, called lead-halide perovskites.

UK Research Probes Nanomaterials in Plants at Cellular Level

A national team of scientists, led by University of Kentucky’s Jason Unrine, used the most powerful X-ray microscope on the planet to discover how nanomaterials enter and move within tomato plants on the cellular level.

Researchers Examine Puzzling Sizes of Extremely Light Calcium Isotopes

Michigan State University researchers have measured for the first time the nuclei of three proton-rich calcium isotopes, according to a new paper published in Nature Physics.

Controllable Electron Flow in Quantum Wires

Princeton University researchers have demonstrated a new way of making controllable “quantum wires” in the presence of a magnetic field, according to a new study published online in the journal Nature.

Ultracold Simulators of Super-dense Stars

Rice University physicists have created the world’s first laser-cooled neutral plasma, completing a 20-year quest that sets the stage for simulators that re-create exotic states of matter found inside Jupiter and white dwarf stars.

Engineering Tech Students Intern at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Two University of West Alabama engineering technology students recently participated in a 10-week paid internship at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, the largest U.S. Department of Energy science and energy laboratory.

New Phenomenon Discovered that Fixes a Common Problem in Lasers: Wavelength Splitting

A team led by University of Utah physicists has discovered how to fix a major problem that occurs in lasers made from a new type of material called quantum dots. The never-before-seen phenomenon will be important for an emerging field of photonics research, including one day making micro-chips that code information using light instead of electrons.