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

Using Nanotechnology to Give Fuel Cells More Oomph

At the same time Honda and Toyota are introducing fuel cell cars to the U.S. market, a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University, Nissan North America and Georgia Institute of Technology have teamed up to create a new technology designed to give fuel cells more oomph.

Study Shows How Mutations Disrupt ALS-Linked Protein

New research explains how the protein TDP43 normally concentrates into droplets and how ALS-related mutations disrupt that, leading to them to form more problematic aggregates that afflict cells.

A Data-Cleaning Tool for Building Better Prediction Models

Software developed by computer scientists at Columbia University and University of California at Berkeley called ActiveClean analyzes a user’s prediction model to decide which mistakes to edit first, while updating the model as it works. With each pass, users see their model improve.

Department of Energy's Office of Science Director Cherry Murray Visits MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC)

Dr. Cherry Murray, Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, visited the Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) on September 8. Murray, who’s office oversees the U.S. fusion energy research program, toured MIT’s Alcator C-Mod fusion experiment, led by the Center’s director, Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) professor Dennis Whyte.

Baylor Researchers Develop Hybrid Computational Strategy for Scalable Whole Genome Data Analysis

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine’s Human Genome Sequencing Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DNAnexus and the University of Texas Health Science Center have developed a novel hybrid computational strategy to address the challenge of volume when processing large data sets.

Sabbagh to Lead $3 Million International Grant on Sustained Tokamak Operation

APAM senior research scientist and adjunct professor Dr. Steven A. Sabbagh will lead a new joint international grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to study high performance tokamak plasma disruption prediction and avoidance in the long-pulse Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) located in Daejeon, South Korea.

Subatomic Microscopy Key to Building New Classes of Materials

Researchers at Penn State and the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are pushing the limits of electron microscopy into the tens of picometer scale, a fraction of the size of a hydrogen atom.

Scientists Create ‘Rewritable Magnetic Charge Ice’

A team of scientists working at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and led by Northern Illinois University physicist Zhili Xiao has created a new material, called “rewritable magnetic charge ice,” that permits an unprecedented degree of control over local magnetic fields and could pave the way for new computing technologies.

Researchers Seek Efficient Means of Splitting Water

Researchers at Cornell University have observed the catalytic reactions that pull apart water molecules are not distributed evenly across the surface of the semiconductor titanium dioxide, occurring only at “hotspots.”

Flat Boron is a Superconductor

Rice University scientists have determined that two-dimensional boron is a natural low-temperature superconductor. In fact, it may be the only 2-D material with such potential.

Remote Predictions of Fluid Flow in Fractures Possible with New Finding

A team of researchers at Purdue University have created a way to quickly and remotely evaluate fluid flow in subsurface fractures that could impact aquifers, oil and gas extraction, sequestration of greenhouse gases or nuclear waste and remediation of leaked contaminants.

Researchers Synthesize a Rare Mineral for the First Time

An international group of researchers including Lehigh University scientists have synthesized an extremely rare mineral and used it as a catalyst precursor to improve two reactions that are of great importance to the chemical industry.