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

Rice Graduate Student Earns Department of Energy Honor

Andrea Miranda, a Rice University doctoral candidate, is one of 52 nationwide selected by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science to participate in its graduate student research program.

Learning from Photosynthesis

A new study, from Hao Yan and Neal Woodbury from ASU’s Biodesign Institute and colleagues from Harvard and MIT, outlines the design of a synthetic system for energy gathering, conversion and transport that may point the way to innovations in solar energy, materials science, nanotechnology and photonics

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Real-Time Scans of Self-Healing Nanoparticles Show their Energy Storage Potential

Through long shifts at the helm of a highly sophisticated microscope, researchers at Stanford University recorded reactions at near-atomic-scale resolution.

Groundbreaking Marks Next Step in IU Physicists' Efforts Toward Creating a 'Supernova Detector'

If a star blows up anywhere in our galaxy, Indiana University-developed technology may one day directly measure particles from the explosion -- as well as detect the event faster than a telescope.

Computer Chip Technology Repurposed for Making Reflective Nanostructures

A team of engineers at Caltech has discovered how to use computer-chip manufacturing technologies to create the kind of reflective materials that make safety vests, running shoes, and road signs appear shiny in the dark.

Stanford Scientists Discover How Dense, Extraterrestrial Ice Can Form in Just Billionths of a Second

Stanford researchers have for the first time captured the freezing of water, molecule-by-molecule, into a strange, dense form called ice VII (“ice seven”), found naturally in otherworldly environments, such as when icy planetary bodies collide.

Squeezing Oil Out of Plants and Into Your Gas Tank: It's Hard.

When the Benning lab at Michigan State University tried a technique for producing plant biofuels, an unexpected result led to an increase in our basic knowledge of plant biology.

Stony Brook Researchers Capture Argon Atoms at Room Temperature with a 2D Structure

A research team from Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory have synthesized a two-dimensional structure and successfully trapped argon atoms inside the nanosized pore structure at room temperature.

Stanford Discovery Could Lead to Sustainable Source of the Fuel Additive Ethanol

Stanford associate professor Thomas Jaramillo and SLAC scientist Christopher Hahn have demonstrated the feasibility of designing copper catalysts that convert carbon dioxide into ethanol without corn or other crops.

'Magic' Alloy Could Spur Next Generation of Solar Cells

In what could be a major step forward for a new generation of solar cells called "concentrator photovoltaics," University of Michigan researchers have developed a new semiconductor alloy that can capture the near-infrared light located on the leading edge of the visible light spectrum.

Newly Discovered Chemical Reaction in Eye May Improve Vision

A light-sensing pigment found in everything from bacteria to vertebrates can be biochemically manipulated to reset itself, an important therapeutic advantage, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Scientists Discover Process for Transitioning Two-Layer Graphene into a Diamond-Hard Material on Impact

Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at the Graduate Center, CUNY, worked to theorize and test how two layers of graphene — each one-atom thick — could be made to transform into a diamond-like material upon impact at room temperature.