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

Princeton Senior’s Thesis Project Makes Material Difference in Quest for Fusion Energy

For her senior thesis, Princeton University undergraduate Meagan Yeh worked with researchers to test materials at the University of California-San Diego and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory for possible use in a fusion reactor.

Columbia Researchers Squeeze Light into Nanoscale Devices and Circuits

Team is first to directly image propagation and dynamics of graphene plasmons at very low temperatures; findings could impact optical communications and signal processing.

When Light, Not Heat, Causes Melting

The way that ordinary materials undergo a phase change, such as melting or freezing, has been studied in great detail. Now, a team of researchers has observed that when they trigger a phase change by using intense pulses of laser light, instead of by changing the temperature, the process occurs very differently.

Researchers Mimic Comet Moth’s Silk Fibers to Make “Air-conditioned” Fabric

In exploring the optical properties of the Madagascar comet moth’s cocoon fibers, a Columbia Engineering team discovers the fibers’ exceptional capabilities to reflect sunlight and to transmit optical signals and images, and develops methods to spin artificial fibers mimicking the natural fibers’ nanostructures and optical properties.

Love of Plants and Problem-Solving Drives Bioenergy Researcher Rebecca Ong

GLBRC researcher Becky Ong describes what made her choose a career in lignocellulosic bioenergy and how her work in understanding plant/soil microbial communities could improve the process of making fuels and chemicals from plants.

Mississippi State Physicists Net High Impact Experimental Result on the Weak Force

Two Mississippi State physicists are seeing more than a decade of research yield a new high-precision result that will expand scientists’ knowledge of the weak force in protons.

Deep Space Radiation Treatment Reboots Brain’s Immune System

UCSF neuroscientist Susanna Rosi, PhD, has identified the first potential treatment for the brain damage caused by exposure to cosmic rays — a drug that prevents memory impairment in mice exposed to simulated space radiation.

U.S. Energy Department Funds Geography Project at UGA

The United States Department of Energy is funding $10 million toward 13 separate projects working to further improve the Energy Exascale Earth System Model. Gabriel J. Kooperman, assistant professor of geography at the University of Georgia, is leading a collaboration with other universities on one of those projects.

Reverse Engineering Reveals Pine Tree's Chemical Production — Worth Billions

Washington State University researchers have reverse engineered the way a pine tree produces a resin, which could serve as an environmentally friendly alternative to a range of fossil‑fuel based products worth billions of dollars.

ASU Professor Wins Grants to Elucidate the Magic of Proteins

For Arizona State University’s Dmitry Matyushov, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and the Department of Physics, years of studying how electrons make their way through some important protein molecules has been recently rewarded with two major grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Nuclear Fusion: Wrestling with Burning Questions on the Control of 'Burning Plasmas'

Recent work by members of Lehigh’s Plasma Control Laboratory will be presented at the 27th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fusions Conference in Gandhinagar, India. Their first piece of work, entitled “Physics-model-based Real-time Optimization for the Development of Steady-state Scenarios at DIII-D,” discusses recent experimental results that demonstrate the effectiveness of a model-based real-time optimization scheme to consistently achieve desired advanced scenarios at predefined times.

National Clean Energy Week: New Technology Could Wean the Battery World Off Cobalt

A research team led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, has opened the door to using other metals in lithium-based batteries, and have built cathodes with 50 percent more lithium-storage capacity than conventional materials.