Feature Articles

Following ignition demonstrations at the National Ignition Facility, the prospect of developing a fusion energy source using lasers looks brighter than ever. Here, SLAC experts weigh in on what it will take to develop the science and technology toward that aim and how the lab and its partners will contribute.

Analyzing DNA is routine in health care, but some genetic samples come from wilder places. Argonne National Laboratory’s Environmental Sample Preparation and Sequencing Facility has the skills to study nature’s weirdest, rarest genetic material.

More than 75 college students competed to test their skills in the fundamentals of IT and cybersecurity infrastructure in the DOE CyberForce Program’s inaugural Conquer the Hill — Command Edition competition.

Argonne researchers have invented a cathode material that replaces lithium with sodium ions and would be significantly cheaper. Sodium is far more naturally abundant and easily mined than lithium and is thus an attractive option for electric vehicles. 

Some of the ORNL AGU23 attendees share their thoughts on this year’s meeting and how they’re looking at the future of geophysical sciences in their areas.

Chelsea Chen, a polymer physicist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is studying ion transport in solid electrolytes that could help electric vehicle battery charges last longer. “The challenge with current EVs is to further increase driving range, and that means higher energy density,” said Chen. “This requires revolutionary design of the battery chemistry.”

A modeling analysis led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory gives the first detailed look at how geothermal energy can relieve the electric power system and reduce carbon emissions if widely implemented across the United States within the next few decades.

To celebrate Black History Month, Argonne is pleased to highlight six employees and one up-and-coming high school STEM student who exemplify how a diverse team drives our science mission forward.

Just as a medication bottle might be opened and the tamper seals carefully reattached by a bad guy, the International Atomic Energy Agency is concerned its tamper-indicating devices could be bypassed and repaired or counterfeited. A possible solution? Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a groundbreaking prototype using “bruising” materials. Their innovation doesn’t just detect tampering; the new device boldly displays the evidence, like battle scars.

At the Colorado School of Mines, Distinguished Professor in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Amy J. Clarke studies metals manufacturing. She observes how microscopic structures form and how processing conditions can be modified to affect solidification and defect development.