Feature Articles

Ames Laboratory

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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Jun-2026 04:15 ET (13-Jun-2026 08:15 GMT/UTC)

Quick detection of uranium isotopes helps safeguard nuclear materials

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Analytical chemists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a rapid way to measure isotopic ratios of uranium and plutonium collected on environmental swipes, which could help International Atomic Energy Agency analysts detect the presence of undeclared nuclear activities or material.

Journal: Analytical Chemistry
Funder: US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration

Jose Rodriguez named fellow of the American Vacuum Society

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory

José Rodriguez, a chemist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and an adjunct professor in the departments of Chemistry and Materials Science and Chemical Engineering at Stony Brook University, has been named a 2021 Fellow of the American Vacuum Society (AVS). The award recognizes Rodriguez for his contributions in the field of catalysis.

Greening the gray: Fighting floods with restoration versus riprap

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Incorporating green infrastructure into flood protection plans alongside gray infrastructure can shield communities, reduce maintenance, and provide additional social and environmental benefits.

Why skyrmions could have a lot in common with glass and high-temperature superconductors

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Spawned by the spins of electrons in magnetic materials, these tiny whirlpools behave like independent particles and could be the future of computing. Experiments with SLAC’s X-ray laser are revealing their secrets.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Rule-following molecules provide the first direct confirmation of a half-century-old theory

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

More than half a century after the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, an important set of organic chemistry rules, were formulated, SLAC scientists imaged a reaction and observed how a molecule transforms as predicted by these rules, directly confirming the theory for the first time.

Journal: Science

Argonne invites local Hispanic and Latino students to imagine future careers in science

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne hosted an Education Outreach Day to reach middle school students from predominantly Hispanic and Latino neighborhoods and taught them about science-related careers. The goal was to strengthen and diversify the nation’s laboratories and research institutions with greater representation.

Research team unlocks secret path to a quantum future

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Researchers from the Lab’s Center for Novel Pathways to Quantum Coherence in Materials are developing new pathways to create and protect quantum coherence. Doing so will enable exquisitely sensitive measurement and information processing devices that function at ambient or even extreme conditions.

Journal: Nature

Jozef Dudek: Then and now / 2011 Early Career Award winner

DOE/US Department of Energy

College of William and Mary associate professor and Jefferson Lab staff scientist Jozef Dudek focused on a previously unexplored, numerical approach to study unstable hadrons and pioneered theoretical techniques to find answers.

Sandia researcher awarded Early-Career Research Program grant

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia researcher Drew Kouri has attracted interest from the broad computing community for his ability to mitigate uncertainty in both supercomputer programs and data, optimizing each to reach the best solutions.

Controlling thin films with atomic “spray painting”

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Creating films with atomic precision allows researchers moving to the Energy Sciences Center to identify small, but important changes in the materials.