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

Fast-flowing Electrons May Mimic Astrophysical Dynamos

Victor Galitski, a Fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), in collaboration with two other scientists, has proposed a radical new approach to studying dynamos, one that could be simpler and safer. The proposal, which was published Oct. 25 in Physical Review Letters, suggests harnessing the electrons in a centimeter-sized chunk of solid matter to emulate the fluid flows in ordinary dynamos.

First Two-dimensional Material that Performs as Both Topological Insulator and Superconductor

A transistor based on the 2-D material tungsten ditelluride (WTe2) sandwiched between boron nitride can switch between two different electronic states — one that conducts current only along its edges, making it a topological insulator, and one that conducts current with no resistance, making it a superconductor — researchers at MIT and colleagues from four other institutions have demonstrated.

The Ohio State University Selected for New Nationwide High-intensity Laser Network

The Ohio State University announced that it is part of a new research network called LaserNetUS. Ohio State’s Scarlet Laser Facility, co-directed by Department of Physics professors Douglass Schumacher and Linn Van Woerkom, will receive $1 million to fund its part of the network.

Standing in for a Kidney, MXene Materials Could Give Dialysis Patients the Freedom to Move

Researchers are working to restore some normalcy for kidney dialysis patients, by developing a wearable system that would give them freedom of movement, are encouraged by a new finding about a material that could vastly reduce the size of the blood filtration system.

Rochester Joins New Nationwide High-intensity Laser Network

To help foster leadership in the application of high-intensity lasers, the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) is partnering with eight other high-intensity laser facilities across the country in a new national research network called LaserNetUS.

Cornell Joins Battery Research Partnership

Chemist Geoffrey Coates will be part of the $120 million, five-year second phase of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), an interdisciplinary project aimed at realizing next-generation batteries.

Red-hued Yeasts Hold Clues to Producing Better Biofuels

A team based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center describe the genetic machinery that yeasts use to make pulcherrimin, which binds iron, an essential nutrient. The work is a key step toward harnessing the synthesis pathway for large-scale production of isobutanol as a biofuel.

A Bright Future: New Material Smashes Light-Splitting Records

A team of scientists and engineers led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Southern California have created a crystal that has a higher degree of optical anisotropy than all other solid substances on earth—especially for light in the infrared region of the spectrum.

From Beaker to Solved 3-D Structure in Minutes

In a new study that one scientist called jaw-dropping, a joint UCLA/Caltech team has shown that it is possible to obtain the structures of small molecules, such as certain hormones and medications, in as little as 30 minutes. That's hours and even days less than was possible before.

New Study Finds Half of the World's Annual Precipitation Falls in Just 12 Days

An analysis of rainfall measured at weather stations across the globe between 1999 and 2014 found that the median time it took for half of a year’s precipitation to fall was just 12 days. A quarter of annual precipitation fell in just six days, and three-quarters fell in 27 days.

Blazes of Light Reveal How Plants Signal Danger Long Distances

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are part of a multi-university study that revealed how plant communication systems respond to threats from herbivores. The results, featured in Science, show that once wounded, plants use calcium signals to warn distant tissues of future attacks.

Seeking Origins of Life in Rocks

Stephan Hlohowskyj, a third-year doctoral student in the earth and ecosystem science program in the College of Science and Engineering at Central Michigan University, is using state-of-the-art techniques to explore the origins of life and the first signs of oxygen on Earth by examining trace metals in rocks.