U.S. Department of Energy Research News

12-Sep-2012
Fresh water feeds hurricanes' fury
PNNL researchers discovered that hurricanes and tropical cyclones become up to 50 percent more intense when passing over oceans inundated with fresh water. Their findings might help improve predictions of a hurricane's power in certain regions.

11-Jan-2012
Biofuels from bacteria is biochemist's goal
Environmental proteomics does not just aid development of new biofuels but helps further understanding of the impact of climate change and the use of organisms for bioremediation.

7-Dec-2011
Home sweet, energy efficient, home
Two new research facilities at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will serve as a test bed for studying energy efficient and smart homes.

12-Aug-2011
A catalyst for high-impact science
A multi-institutional team of scientists is using EMSL's new Recovery Act-funded capabilities to achieve new insights into catalytic reactions on the surfaces of advanced metal oxide-based materials. The work is part of an inaugural EMSL Research Campaign that brings together world-leading capabilities and expertise in support of more efficient, less costly catalysts -- a need with cross-cutting energy and industrial applications.

1-Jul-2011
Buried treasure
EMSL scientist Hongfei Wang and his team recently struck a vein that could lead to research gold for scientists interested in molecular interactions at interfaces. Their picosecond-femtosecond broadband sum frequency generation system is now ready to provide a new generation of surface vibrational spectroscopy and imaging.

7-Nov-2008
Solo sparkle: Electron give-and-take lets molecules shine individually on camera
A single fluorescent molecule flashing as it gains or loses its electron has made the microscopic spotlight. Watching a whole gaggle of these molecules, they appear to work synchronously, but a new close-up view reveals mavericks that shine when they seemingly shouldn't. The work sets the stage for a better understanding of the underlying principles of certain reactions common to biofuel production.

27-Dec-2007
PNNL's Richard Smith named to prestigious Scientific American 50 list of outstanding leaders
Richard D. Smith, a Battelle Fellow at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has been named one of 50 outstanding leaders in the 2007 Scientific American 50 -- an annual list of 50 key contributors in science and technology. Smith shared the honor for creating a new approach to neurological diagnostics with Desmond Smith of UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine.

15-Jun-2007
Surplus electricity could 'fill up' plug-in vehicles
Plug in your car. Unplug foreign oil, greenhouse gases and other emissions that contribute to urban smog.

15-Jun-2007
Brain 3D mapping to combat neurodegenerative disease
Wanda felt a jolt of frustration run through her when her husband forgot to meet her at the clubhouse after their round of golf. How many times had this happened lately? It was becoming an embarrassment.

15-Jun-2007
Discovering the details of dissolution
Ions in a liquid are like celebrities at a movie opening -- surrounded by fans who jostle each other to get as close as the velvet ropes around the red carpet will allow. So it is with ions in water or other liquids or solvents.

15-Jun-2007
Cytochrome studies provide biofuel cell potential
Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and collaborators have purified the protein called outer membrane cytochrome A (OmcA) from Shewanella oneidensis, a bacterium with promise for bioremediation of contaminants and the design of microbial fuel cells. They have measured its ability to bind and transfer electrons to mineral hematite, a solid ferric oxide. The team has shown that purified OmcA can directly reduce solid metals and that purified proteins are a next step in biofuel cell development.

15-Jun-2007
Aerosol particles and cloud droplets -- Microscopic modulators of climate
Scientists around the world use sophisticated computer models to simulate future scenarios of all types -- including global climate. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are playing a key role in the improvement of these models by providing new information about the role of aerosols in the atmosphere.

15-Jun-2007
Dust in the wind
In March 2006, a major dust storm occurred in Niamey, Niger. Although a common occurrence, this was the first time both satellite- and ground-based instruments were used simultaneously to assess the impact of airborne Saharan dust on incoming and outgoing solar radiation.

15-Jun-2007
Hopping hydrogen
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Texas at Austin discovered that a single hydrogen atom just can't keep still after it splits from a water molecule on the surface of the catalyst rutile titanium oxide. The hydrogen atom hopscotches across the oxygen atoms that stud the surface of the catalyst, while the hydrogen on what is left from water remains fixed, suggesting that the electronic structure of this popular catalyst is not entirely as it seems.

15-Jun-2007
PNNL's newest awards showcase airline safety and blackout prevention
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been recognized again this year by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for their efforts in commercializing PNNL-developed technologies.

15-Jun-2007
Data-intensive computing laying foundation for biological breakthroughs
Biological breakthroughs to solve society's most challenging problems require innovative tools and a "different way" to analyze the enormous amounts of data being generated.

15-Jun-2007
PNNL aims to move fast chemical weapon agentsensing technique from lab-top to prototype
In the same amount of time it takes to download software or print a picture, you now can detect a chemical weapon agent. Needless to say, technology is cool.

15-Jun-2007
On thin icege/gi
Thin clouds high in the upper troposphere, like cirrus clouds, may have a significant influence on Earth's climate and enhance the "greenhouse effect" by absorbing more of the sun's radiation than they take in. Unknown is how ice crystals in these clouds absorb and reflect radiant energy and enhance the amount of radiant energy emitted toward the earth's surface.

15-Jun-2007
Iron nanoparticles could lead to more effectives carbon tetrachloride cleanup
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University of Minnesota and Oregon Health and Science University discovered that not all iron nanoparticles are created equal. Some, in fact, may be especially useful for cleaning up groundwater contaminated with carbon tetrachloride.Bi%3A1181862272

14-Jun-2007
Taming the hairy mushroom
Fungi (yeasts, molds and mushrooms) have gotten a bad rap over the years. They have been blamed for infecting food crops and represent some of the most universal and costly pathogens known to man -- both of which overshadow the important contributions fungi make, such as providing critical agricultural nutrients and compounds for antibiotics.

11-May-2007
An ancient bathtub ring of mammoth fossils
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory geologists have put out a call for teeth tusks, femurs and any and all other parts of extinct mammoths left by massive Ice Age floods in southeastern Washington.

22-Mar-2007
Sailing for science
When most people think of an ocean cruise, they think of buffets and relaxing in deck chairs. For Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researcher Philip Long, an expedition cruise aboard the Joint Oceanography Institutes Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES) Resolution research vessel meant 12-hour workdays examining ocean floor core samples for methane hydrate.

22-Mar-2007
Data-intensive computing key to predictive science
The ability to protect the nation from terrorist attacks, discover the hidden secrets of genes and monitor and control the electrical power grid requires the ability to process and analyze massive amounts of data and information in real time.

22-Mar-2007
An ounce of prevention
When you think about it, Americans go to great lengths to be healthy these days. This generation is far more knowledgeable about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle than generations past. In addition to paying attention to diet and exercise, many regularly take precautions to avoid illness and disease. Today, taking vitamin supplements, eating foods rich in antioxidants and applying sunscreen are almost as commonplace as brushing teeth in the morning. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

22-Mar-2007
Carbon capture made easy
Gasification plants may be one of the keys to a hydrogen economy, if capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) becomes technically and economically feasible. These plants would transform fossil fuel feedstock, including coal, biomass and municipal wastes, into clean-burning hydrogen gas where the only byproduct is water.