2016 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Bacterial Mechanism Converts Nitrogen to Greenhouse Gas

Cornell researchers have discovered a biological mechanism that helps convert nitrogen-based fertilizer into nitrous oxide, an ozone-depleting greenhouse gas.

‘Spooky’ Sightings in Crystal Point to Extremely Rare Quantum Spin Liquid

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have observed strong indications of quantum spin liquid inside a new exotic ytterbium crystal, first synthesized one year ago by scientists in China.

UT Research Reveals Potential for 50-fold Increase in Catalyst Mass Activity

University of Tennessee and national lab research has led to a new understanding of how and where electrochemical reactions occur, by moving from traditional electrolysis technology to what is known as proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells or PEMECs.

Manipulating Quantum Order

Teams led by Thomas F. Rosenbaum of Caltech report how they have combined magnetic fields and large pressures to not only induce states of matter at ultra-low temperatures, but also to nudge them between competing types of quantum order.

Read more about Manipulating Quantum Order

Innovations with Potential to Benefit Society on Display at Celebrate Princeton Invention

A nanoscale sensor for environmental monitoring and an implantable medical device to restore brain function after a stroke were two of the research projects with the potential to benefit society that were on display at Celebrate Princeton Invention last week.

Raju Venugopalan Awarded Prestigious Humboldt Research Award

Raju Venugopalan, an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University and a senior physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award for his remarkable achievements in theoretical nuclear physics.

A Watershed Moment in Understanding How H2O Conducts Electricity

A team of researchers, led by Yale chemistry professor Mark Johnson, show for the first time how water molecules pass along excess charges and in the process, conduct electricity.

Physics, Photosynthesis and Solar Cells

A University of California, Riverside assistant professor has combined photosynthesis and physics to make a key discovery that could lead to highly efficient, green solar cells.

Novel Silicon Etching Technique Crafts 3D Gradient Refractive Index Micro-Optics

Working with colleagues at Stanford and The Dow Chemical Company, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created a novel approach for fabricating three-dimensional micro-optics through the shape-defined formation of porous silicon (PSi), with broad impacts in integrated optoelectronics, imaging, and photovoltaics.

Hybrid Approach Predicts and Confirms Structure of Complex Metal Nanoparticles

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Toledo report on an X-ray-determined structure that authenticates the a priori prediction, and in conjunction with first-principles theoretical analysis, supports the underlying forecasting methodology.

Researchers Propose Low-Mass Supernova Triggered Formation of Our Solar System

A research team led by University of Minnesota School of Physics and Astronomy Professor Yong-Zhong Qian uses new models and evidence from meteorites to show that a low-mass supernova triggered the formation of our solar system.

New Method for Analyzing Crystal Structure

A new technique developed by MIT researchers reveals the inner details of photonic crystals, synthetic materials whose exotic optical properties are the subject of widespread research.