News By Location

News from CA

Select a state to view local articles and features

Berkeley Lab-led ECP Pagoda project rolls out first exascale software libraries

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Just one year after the Department of Energy's Exascale Computing Program began funding projects to prepare scientific applications for exascale supercomputers, the Pagoda Project -- led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory -- has successfully reached a major milestone: making its open source software libraries publicly available as of Sept. 30, 2017.

New studies on disordered cathodes may provide much-needed jolt to lithium batteries

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a pair of papers published this month in Nature Communications and Physical Review Letters (PRL), a team of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has come up with a set of rules for making new disordered materials, a process that had previously been driven by trial-and-error. They also found a way to incorporate fluorine, which makes the material both more stable and have higher capacity.

Journal: Physical Review Letters
Funder: Department of Energy

White rot fungi's size explained by breadth of gene families involved

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Armillaria fungi are among the most devastating fungal pathogens, causing root rot disease in more than 500 plant species found in forests, parks and vineyards. As white rot fungi, they are capable of breaking down all components of plant cell walls, a capability that interests bioenergy researchers. In Nature Ecology & Evolution, an international team analyzed and compared four Armillaria fungal genomes with those of related fungi to better understand the evolution of Armillaria's abilities.

Journal: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Scientists get first close-ups of finger-like growths that trigger battery fires

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have captured the first atomic-level images of finger-like growths called dendrites that can pierce the barrier between battery compartments and trigger short circuits or fires. Dendrites and the problems they cause have been a stumbling block on the road to developing new types of batteries that store more energy so electric cars, cell phones, laptops and other devices can go longer between charges.

Journal: Science

SLAC accelerator physicist Alexander Chao wins American Physical Society's Wilson prize

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Alexander Chao, a professor emeritus of particle physics and astrophysics at Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, has been recognized with the 2018 Robert R. Wilson Prize for Achievement in the Physics of Particle Accelerators.

SLAC's Risa Wechsler named American Physical Society Fellow

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Attempting to model and measure the distribution of 300 million galaxies is not a job for the faint of heart.

That's exactly the challenge that has been undertaken by Risa Wechsler, associate professor of physics and astrophysics at SLAC and Stanford, who was recently named fellow of the American Physical Society. Wechsler was elected for her pioneering work in understanding galaxy formation and for her leadership in large survey projects.

Experiment provides deeper look into the nature of neutrinos

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The first glimpse of data from the full array of a deeply chilled particle detector operating beneath a mountain in Italy sets the most precise limits yet on where scientists might find a theorized process to help explain why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

Cool roofs have water saving benefits too

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The energy and climate benefits of cool roofs have been well established: By reflecting rather than absorbing the sun's energy, light-colored roofs keep buildings, cities, and even the entire planet cooler. Now a new study by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that cool roofs can also save water by reducing how much is needed for urban irrigation.

Journal: Nature Communications

Scientists solve a magnesium mystery in rechargeable battery performance

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A Berkeley Lab-led research team has discovered a surprising set of chemical reactions involving magnesium that degrade battery performance even before the battery can be charged up. The findings could steer the design of next-gen batteries.

Journal: Chemistry of Materials

Screening for disease or toxins in a drop of blood

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Imagine being able to quickly and accurately screen for diseases or chemical contaminants in a tiny drop of blood. Berkeley Lab scientist Daojing Wang and others have developed a multinozzle emitter array (MEA), a silicon chip that can dramatically shorten the time it takes to identify proteins, peptides, and other molecular components within small volumes of biological samples. This patented technology is now being commercialized by Newomics Inc., a company Wang launched to further develop the product and build a platform for personalized health care.

Funder: National Institutes of Health

92
93
94
95
96