![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Basic Energy Sciences Roundtable](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/foa-bes-112718-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=8F36ECD0CCAF58901C0E74593A54AD3AC8CD7114D2D67EB63099AC44CA5A10BC)
Funding: Department of Energy to Provide $24 Million for Computer-Based Materials Design
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to provide $24 million in new and renewal research awards to advance the development of sophisticated software for computer-based design of novel materials.
Read more about Funding: Department of Energy to Provide $24 Million for Computer-Based Materials Design![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg A collection of lab beakers.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/foa-epscor-111418-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=7BE3FED07CA17E93D87EF0E2BF7EF4770B5D5E61102145C2DBA55091198301E9)
Funding: Department of Energy to Provide $20 Million in EPSCoR Grants for Energy-Related Research
Grants to Be Awarded on a Competitive Basis in States and Territories with Historically Lower Levels of Federal Research Funding
Read more about Funding: Department of Energy to Provide $20 Million in EPSCoR Grants for Energy-Related Research![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Using SLAC’s X-ray laser, researchers have captured the most complete high-res atomic movie to date of Photosystem II, a key protein complex in plants, algae and cyanobacteria responsible for splitting water and producing the oxygen we breathe.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/slac-photosynthesis-110918-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=6272DC09BA3C320586F9529691DC486846917FC40C3764CDFA538AE9A478C723)
Researchers Create Most Complete High-res Atomic Movie of Photosynthesis to Date
In a major step forward, SLAC’s X-ray laser captures all four stable states of the process that produces the oxygen we breathe, as well as fleeting steps in between. The work opens doors to understanding the past and creating a greener future.
Read more about Researchers Create Most Complete High-res Atomic Movie of Photosynthesis to Date![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Argonne scientists have identified another material that can produce both magnetism and superconductivity: ytterbium.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/anl-new-material-110818-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=3D9209A57684B220C042DCC1D4042D30EEF2E34BCCF972FB5038BE0C9975C6FF)
Under Pressure, Opposites Attract
Argonne researchers have uncovered a new material that can produce both magnetism and superconductivity.
Read more about Under Pressure, Opposites Attract![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Mark Palmer, director of the Accelerator Test Facility, with equipment at the facility.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/blog-director-palmer-110718-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=079BDB9632D992F7825C5C1159F0DFC09720711919E7ED634917C6B7557CB2B3)
Meet the Director: Mark Palmer, Accelerator Test Facility
As the director of the Accelerator Test Facility, Mark Palmer helps researchers make particle accelerators smaller, more powerful, and more cost-efficient.
Read more about Meet the Director: Mark Palmer, Accelerator Test Facility![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg A new study reveals how coordinated motions of copper (red) and oxygen (grey) atoms in a high-temperature superconductor boost the superconducting strength of pairs of electrons (white glow), allowing the material to conduct electricity without any loss at much higher temperatures.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/slac-superconductivity-110118-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=E6146FF9C164A9DA4FFC531F7A75FC1F6854B2AD39545D3DC407835F990C55E1)
Scientists Make First Detailed Measurements of Key Factors Related to High-temperature Superconductivity
Two studies led by SLAC and Stanford capture electron 'sound waves' and identify a positive feedback loop that may boost superconducting temperatures.
Read more about Scientists Make First Detailed Measurements of Key Factors Related to High-temperature Superconductivity![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg A trio of scientists was recognized for their early career successes in uncovering how microbes produce fuel, insights that could change our energy portfolio.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/blog-rising-stars-102918-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=A9C6DD67CE4C7544365643427811D95D46DCDDAD434D4F5094FA3C4F8E7AD665)
Rising Stars Seek to Learn from the Master: Mother Nature
Trio recognized for uncovering biochemical secrets behind nature’s efficient production of fuels.
Read more about Rising Stars Seek to Learn from the Master: Mother Nature![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg supertyphoon Haiyan approaching the Philippines in 2013.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/blog-typhoons-101718-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=F3E6D059FDF382D4C99080C26A8F54C661F1E59F7B91B24E5B87EB32626CBE29)
The Stories Behind the Science: How Does the Ocean’s Saltiness Affect Tropical Storms?
How two researchers discovered that the factors behind storms’ strength are more complex than scientists previously thought.
Read more about The Stories Behind the Science: How Does the Ocean’s Saltiness Affect Tropical Storms?![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Poplar provides a fast-growing woody feedstock for biofuels.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/pnnl-poplar-trees-100518-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=7290B451312DD7CB37AAA521B676FAB9DFF09789A8EFCAE3B23DDA37B212EFEF)
Redesigning Poplar Trees to Take the Drought ... and the Salt and the Heat
A multi-institutional team is working on a multi-million-dollar, multi-year project funded by DOE's Office of Science to improve poplar trees to produce more biomass for biofuel applications.
Read more about Redesigning Poplar Trees to Take the Drought ... and the Salt and the Heat![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg At the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument at LCLS, the researchers zapped knuckle-shaped samples with a laser to create plasma, then used an X-ray scattering technique to watch it expand and collide.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/slac-plasma-100418-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=3D1BD5B1EA4D3BE3FCBDE3097B4AFF33AD03098B250FC5A752C4B8CA9565FEFD)
Peering Into 36-Million-Degree Plasma with SLAC’s X-ray Laser
In a first, researchers measure extremely small and fast changes that occur in plasma when it’s zapped with a laser. Their technique will have applications in astrophysics, medicine and fusion energy.
Read more about Peering Into 36-Million-Degree Plasma with SLAC’s X-ray Laser![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg This graphic shows the magnetic field surrounding the Earth and how it reacted to energy and plasma from a solar flare caused by magnetic reconnection.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/blog-magnetic-reconnection-100318-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=9E1799D084A4D6CC80157F03DB64D05F06A3F283799CC29CC0166F09E883EED5)
Solving a Plasma Physics Mystery: Magnetic Reconnection
Magnetic reconnection causes storms in space and can damage fusion research devices on earth. Researchers are investigating why and how it happens so fast.
Read more about Solving a Plasma Physics Mystery: Magnetic Reconnection![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg When a plant is low on sugar (left), a cascade of molecular interactions degrades (DEG) a protein (W) that turns on fatty acid synthesis (FAS). However, when sugar levels are high (right), key steps in this process are blocked, leaving the W protein intact to start fatty acid (oil) production.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2018/bnl-plant-oil-092518-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=EC3038799658F11BD962C683A430C7C58784F8F7B9F8AA54F93E59913891C806)
How a Molecular Signal Helps Plant Cells Decide When to Make Oil
A study at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory identifies new details of how a sugar-signaling molecule helps regulate oil production in plant cells.
Read more about How a Molecular Signal Helps Plant Cells Decide When to Make Oil