University Research

Physics Boosts Artificial Intelligence Methods

Researchers from Caltech and the University of Southern California (USC) report the first application of quantum computing to a physics problem. By employing quantum-compatible machine learning techniques, they developed a method of extracting a rare Higgs boson signal from copious noise data.

Converting Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide Using Water and Electricity

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis have determined how electrocatalysts can convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide using water and electricity. The discovery can lead to the development of efficient electrocatalysts for large scale production of synthesis gas — a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

Assessment Shows Metagenomics Software Has Much Room for Improvement

A recent critical assessment of software tools represents a key step toward taming the “Wild West” nature of the burgeoning field of metagenomics, said an Oregon State University mathematical biologist who took part in the research.

Navigational View of the Brain Thanks to Powerful X-Rays

A research team led by Eva Dyer, a computational neuroscientist and electrical engineer, has imaged brains at that map-like or “meso” scale using the most powerful X-ray beams in the country. The imaging scale gives an overview of the intercellular landscape of the brain at a level relevant to small neural networks, which are at the core of the brain’s ability to compute.

UNM grad student selected for Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program

University of New Mexico graduate student Jacek Ksawery Osinski was one of 52 students across the nation selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science for its 2017 Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program.

IU Grad Student Earns Department of Energy Award to Advance Research on High-Energy Physics

Jacob Christopher Zettlemoyer of the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Physics will pursue experimental research on high-energy physics with support from the grant at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Research Seeks to Transform Weather Predication/Climate Modeling

Thijs Heus, an assistant professor of physics at Cleveland State University, has received a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to better model cloud size and enhance understanding of how small and large clouds impact solar reflectivity, vertical transport of heat and moisture, as well as precipitation.

Researchers Invent Process to Make Sustainable Rubber and Plastics

Synthetic rubber and plastics – used for manufacturing tires, toys and myriad other products – are produced from butadiene, a molecule traditionally made from petroleum or natural gas. But those manmade materials could get a lot greener soon, thanks to the ingenuity of a team of scientists from three U.S. research universities.