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

Rust Under Pressure Could Explain Deep Earth Anomalies

Using laboratory techniques to mimic the conditions found deep inside the Earth, a team of Carnegie scientists led by Ho-Kwang “Dave” Mao has identified a form of iron oxide that they believe could explain seismic and geothermal signatures in the deep mantle.

Study Clears Way for New Approaches to Plant Disease

A Washington State University biologist has found what he calls “very strong support” for an 86-year-old hypothesis about how nutrients move through plants. His two-decade analysis of the phenomenon has resulted in a suite of techniques that can ultimately be used to fight plant diseases and make crops more efficient.

LSU Physicists Discover Extreme Light from Frozen Argon

A team of researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University in collaboration with colleagues at Louisiana State University have directly compared the ultrafast, extreme ultraviolet radiation emitted by argon atoms when they are in their gas phase or in their weakly bound solid phase and found significant differences between them.

NAU Study Finds Carbon Dioxide Biggest Player in Thawing Permafrost

Northern Arizona University assistant research professor and lead author of the study, Christina Schädel, analyzed carbon release from 25 Arctic soil incubation studies to learn more about the conditions promoting either carbon dioxide or methane release.

Superbug Scare: GVSU Faculty Searching for Solutions

Several chemistry professors, including Rachel Powers, Brad Wallar, and David Leonard, and their teams of undergraduate students at Grand Valley State University have spent the past 10 years researching solutions to antibiotic resistance, using the high-energy X-ray beams at Argonne National Lab to create three-dimensional images of enzymes that inhibit antibiotics.

Finding a New Formula for Concrete

Researchers at MIT look to bones and shells as blueprints for stronger, more durable concrete.

New Concept Turns Battery Technology Upside-Down

A new approach to the design of a liquid battery, using a passive, gravity-fed arrangement similar to an old-fashioned hourglass, could offer great advantages due to the system’s low cost and the simplicity of its design and operation, says a team of MIT researchers who have made a demonstration version of the new battery.

UM Researcher Embarks on Field Campaign to Study Effects of Smoke on Earth’s Climate

A scientist at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science is leading an upcoming international research campaign to study a significant contributor to regional climate warming - smoke.

Light Can "Heal" Defects in Some Solar Cells

A team of researchers at MIT, the University of Washington, and Oxford University say they have made significant inroads toward understanding a process for improving perovskites’ performance, by modifying the material using intense light.

Researchers Shed Light on Important Catalyst Structure

Washington State University and Tufts University researchers have developed a model of an important catalyst that could lead to cleaner, fuel efficient vehicles as well as advances in industrial processes for common products.

PPPL Dedicates Upgraded Fusion Reactor, a Powerful New 'Star on Earth'

The National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U), a spherical tokamak housed at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory on Princeton's Forrestal Campus, was dedicated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) May 20 following a four-year, $94-million upgrade funded by the DOE Office of Science.

Hot New Solar Cell

A team of MIT researchers has for the first time demonstrated a device based on a method that enables solar cells to break through a theoretically predicted ceiling on how much sunlight they can convert into electricity.