2015 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

New Tabletop Detector “Sees” Single Electrons

MIT physicists have developed a new tabletop particle detector that is able to identify single electrons in a radioactive gas.

Discovery of New Plant Switch Could Boost Crops and Biofuel Production

A team of Michigan State University researchers has discovered a switch that regulates plant photosynthesis – the process that lets plants store solar energy and use it to grow and produce food.

Acid Test

New Energy Frontier Research Center led by Georgia Tech tackles materials that tackle pollutants.

Exposure of U.S. Population to Extreme Heat Could Quadruple by Mid-Century

The study, by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the City University of New York (CUNY), highlights the importance of considering societal changes when trying to determine future climate impacts.

For 2-D Boron, It’s All About That Base

Rice University scientists have theoretically determined that the properties of atom-thick sheets of boron depend on where those atoms land.

New Study Points Way to 'Filming' Molecule-Light Interactions

A new study from University of Nebraska-Lincoln physicists could inform the future production of 3-D movies starring light-driven molecular reactions that already play leading roles in photosynthesis, vision and many state-of-the-art technologies.

Summer Interns Get Research Experience at PPPL

Twenty-five undergraduates from colleges across the country spent this summer at the laboratory as interns, working on projects ranging from figuring out how to remotely steer a set of mirrors that will be built into the upcoming ITER fusion machine to studying how nanoparticles grow inside plasmas.

Physics Professor Shawn-Yu Lin Breaks New Ground in Thermal Radiation Revolutionary Discovery Could Advance Solar Energy Conversion

Nano-photonics expert and physics professor Shawn-Yu Lin has discovered a new type of thermal radiation—in between the two extremes of blackbody radiation and laser light—that could contribute to a cheaper, easier solution for converting sunlight to electricity.

Crop Rotation Boosts Soil Microbes, Benefits Plant Growth

In the first study of its kind, new research from the University of New Hampshire shows that crop rotations, in isolation from other management factors, can increase the functions performed by soil microbial communities that benefit plant growth.

Science Provides New Way to Peer Into Pores

Rice University lab finds technique to characterize nanoscale spaces in porous materials.

Physicists Catch a Magnetic Wave that Offers Promise for More Energy-Efficient Computing

A team of physicists at New York University, Stanford University, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have taken pictures of a theorized but previously undetected magnetic wave, the discovery of which offers the potential to be an energy-efficient means to transfer data in consumer electronics.

Fertilize the Ocean, Cool the Planet?

MIT researchers find unintended consequences of an idea to stimulate ocean phytoplankton growth in order to geoengineer a cooler atmosphere.