University Research

Electronic Entropy Enhances Water Splitting

A Northwestern Engineering team led by Chris Wolverton has discovered that cerium’s electronic entropy, which is created when an electron transitions among various states within an electron shell, is the underlying reason for its success. This finding could help researchers better exploit cerium’s entropy for water-splitting technologies.

Researchers Link Robots Into Surveillance Teams

Researchers at Cornell University are developing a system to enable teams of robots to share information as they move around and, if necessary, get help in interpreting what they see, enabling them to conduct surveillance as a single entity with many eyes.

Graphene Holds Up Under High Pressure

A single sheet of graphene, comprising an atom-thin lattice of carbon, may seem rather fragile. But engineers at MIT have found that the ultrathin material is exceptionally sturdy, remaining intact under applied pressures of at least 100 bars.

Graduate Student to Work with Federal Researchers in Pacific Northwest

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program announced recently that William G. Rodriguez-Reillo, a graduate student in organismic and evolutionary biology, will be spending three to 12 months working in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Wash., to conduct part of his doctoral dissertation work.

National Lab Day Raises Question: What’s a National Lab?

The array of 17 National Labs, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, are where the United States seeks answers to the most critical scientific questions of our time. From energy independence, to nuclear safety, to defense, to elemental work in physics, biosciences and computing, big science happens in National Labs.

Physics Ph.D. Student Receives DOE Grad Student Research Award

Joseph Karpie, a Ph.D. student in William & Mary’s Department of Physics, has been named a recipient of an award from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program.

Termite Gut Holds a Secret to Breaking Down Plant Biomass

In the Microbial Sciences Building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the incredibly efficient eating habits of a fungus-cultivating termite are surprising even to those well acquainted with the insect’s natural gift for turning wood to dust.

Columbia Engineers Invent Method to Control Light Propagation in Waveguides

A team of Columbia Engineering researchers, led by Applied Physics Assistant Professor Nanfang Yu, has invented a method to control light propagating in confined pathways, or waveguides, with high efficiency by using nano-antennas.

UNG Alumni Selected for Internships with Department of Energy

Recent University of North Georgia (UNG) graduates Katie McCullough, Kimberly Wright and Sonia Alcantar were awarded internships with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to study at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington.