2017 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

UF Researchers Awarded $7M Grant to Improve How Plants Get Nitrogen and Reduce Pollution

A team of researchers at the universities of Florida and Wisconsin-Madison will use a $7.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to pinpoint genes that could improve plants’ ability to access nitrogen, an essential nutrient for plant growth.

Bioenergy Giant Sorghum is High in Yield and Potential

Scientists at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) found sorghum has the potential to help produce yet another good thing: environmentally sustainable, bio-based chemicals and fuels.

Energy Harvested from Evaporation Could Power Much of U.S., Says Study

In the first evaluation of evaporation as a renewable energy source, researchers at Columbia University find that U.S. lakes and reservoirs could generate 325 gigawatts of power, nearly 70 percent of what the United States currently produces.

NYU Dentistry Study Pinpoints Role of Proteins That Produce Pearls

Researchers at New York University College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry) reported that pearls’ tough structures hold clues for creating hardy materials, with possibilities from dentistry to aerospace.

Hope to Discover Sure Signs of Life on Mars? New Research Says Look for the Element Vanadium

A new paper in the journal Astrobiology suggests NASA and others hunting for proof of Martian biology in the form of “microfossils” could use the element vanadium in combination with Raman spectroscopy on organic material as biosignatures to confirm traces of extraterrestrial life.

World’s Smallest Neutrino Detector Finds Big Physics Fingerprint

After more than a year of operation at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the world’s smallest neutrino detector has found a big fingerprint of the elusive, electrically neutral particles that interact only weakly with matter.

4 Elements Make 2-D Optical Platform

Rice University scientists have discovered a two-dimensional alloy with an optical bandgap that can be tuned by the temperature used to grow it.

Corrosion in Real Time

Using a device called the Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA), University of California Santa Barbara researchers get a nanoscale glimpse of crevice and pitting corrosion as it happens.

New Analysis Explains Role of Defects in Metal Oxides

New research from a team at MIT shows that such imperfections in a family of materials known as insulating metal oxides may be key to their performance for a variety of high-tech applications, such as nonvolatile memory chips and energy conversion technologies.

Is the Milky Way an ‘Outlier’ Galaxy?

New research indicated that the Milky Way's satellite galaxies are much more tranquil than other systems of comparable luminosity and environment.

UW Student Receives DOE Graduate Student Research Award

Ryan James Herz-Thyhsen, of Glen Mills, Pa., is among 52 graduate students selected nationwide for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program. The sixth-year doctoral student will conduct his research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Knoxville, Tenn., from Oct. 30-Feb. 2.

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.